Imports of French wine go sour (2)

Denis Wang, general manager of a Shandong-based wine importer, stopped importing French wine several months before the trade spat.

"Trade disputes between the EU and China never end, so when China's exports of solar panel products hit the rocks in Europe, we knew imported wine tariffs were in the pipeline," said Wang, who cleared his stock of French wines last month and started to import wines from South Africa instead.

Most of China's imports of European wine come from France, Spain, Italy and Germany, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Currently, the composite tax rate of imported wine is fixed at 48 percent of the declared value.

A punitive tariff would be added to that rate if China's probe concludes unfavorably for the EU.

A sales manager at a French wine importer in Shanghai, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had heard from government contacts that the duties are already in progress and are likely to be charged in September.

"The big beneficiaries could be countries producing the 'New World' wines, such as Chile and New Zealand, which have free trade agreements with China," he said.

But he said the trade spat has had no impact on his business, because he has filled at least 20 shipping containers with wines.

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