(Yicai) Aug. 30 -- China will not implement any anti-dumping actions related to the imports of brandy from the European Union on a preliminary basis.

The margins of dumping of brandy imported to China from the EU were between 30.6 percent and 39 percent, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced yesterday, citing the preliminary results of the investigation.

The MOFCOM said in a statement on Jan. 5 that it would launch an anti-dumping investigation on EU-made brandy, described as the spirits obtained by distilling grape wine in containers holding less than 200 liters.

Imports of EU-made brandy account for 97.5 percent of China’s total imports of the product and more than half of the country’s overall brandy market, the preliminary results also showed.

The investigation mainly impacts French companies because 99 percent of brandy imported to China from the EU is made in France, said Zhao Yongsheng, researcher at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics.

However, when asked if the investigation mainly targets French brandy producers, a spokesperson of the MOFCOM said that the probe was initiated based on applications from domestic firms.

The overall amount involved in the investigation is relatively small compared to other products, Zhao noted, adding that brandy, especially cognac, is a very expensive niche product in China.

China is the second-largest importer of French cognac after the United States, according to data from French cognac management agency Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac.

“Rémy Cointreau intends to continue cooperating fully with the Chinese authorities until the investigation has been completed,” the French owner of the Louis XIII and Rémy Martin brandy brands said after the MOFCOM’s announcement. “At the same time, the company is continuing to assess all options and growth opportunities that will enable it to mitigate any negative fallout from MOFCOM’s final decision.”

Editor: Futura Costaglione