EU brandy to face anti-dumping steps from Beijing

China said Monday it will impose temporary anti-dumping measures on brandy imported from the European Union, deepening a trade standoff between Beijing and Brussels after similar measures last month.

China announced provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports last month, saying the alleged dumping threatened substantial damage to the domestic industry.

And Beijing's commerce ministry said in a statement Monday that authorities have decided to implement temporary anti-dumping measures in the form of a cash deposit or letter of guarantee against European brandy products.

The measures, based on calculations involving prices approved by customs, as well as import taxes, follow a similar announcement made by the ministry on October 8.

It was not immediately clear whether these measures -which come into effect on Friday-were new or an extension of existing ones.

France, Europe's leading producer of brandy, had described the measures announced last month as political, designed to put the EU under pressure after it imposed hefty tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles over unfair competition claims.

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