EC welcomes agreement reached between European and Chinese wine industries
24 Mar 2014 01:15 PM
The European and Chinese
wine industries, respectively represented by CEEV and CADA, have reached an
agreement which will lead to the termination of the Chinese investigations into
European wine exports initiated in July 2013 and will provide the basis for
technical cooperation and exchanges planned for the next two
years.
EU Agriculture Commissioner
Dacian Çioloş stated: “I welcome the amicable solution which has
been found by the two industries. My expectation is that the question mark
hanging over EU wine exports as a result of the Chinese investigation is now
clearly resolved and this is very good news. We have been strengthening
collaboration and cooperation with China in the agricultural sector over the
past four years and I am committed to taking this further, because the scope to
bring benefits to farmers and consumers in China and Europe is very clear. I
now look forward to working with my counterparts in the Chinese Government to
build on this outcome.”
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De
Gucht stated: "I applaud the fact that the Chinese wine industry will
withdraw its application for anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures. I expect
that the case will now be formally terminated so that the EU wine industry can
continue to export its quality products to China in a fair and competitive
environment. After the recent agreement reached in the polysilicon case, this
is yet another positive development which will further strengthen the EU-China
bilateral relationship."
Background
On 1st July 2013 the Chinese
authorities (MOFCOM) initiated an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation
into European wine exports to China. Extensive replies to requests for
information for the dumping and subsidy investigations under the WTO framework
were prepared by the European Commission and the EU industry, and were
submitted to China in the second half of 2013. The Commission has consistently
defended the view that the case is unfounded and that there was no injury
suffered by the Chinese wine producers which could be linked to the European
wine imports into China. The Commission is also convinced that any aids given
to the EU wine sector are fully WTO compatible.
In parallel to the
investigation, a "Business to Business" (B2B) dialogue between the
European wine industry (represented by the European Committee of Wine Companies
(CEEV)) and the Chinese wine industry (represented by the Chinese Alcohol
Drinks Association (CADA)) was initiated in November 2013 in Beijing. This B2B
dialogue process was encouraged and supported by the Commission and the Chinese
government. However, the Commission has not been directly involved in the
negotiations of the content of this agreement.
The Memorandum of Understanding
reached between CEEV and CADA during this dialogue consists of a commitment by
the Chinese industry to withdraw its Anti-subsidy and Anti-dumping complaint
against EU wine imports, and the agreement on technical assistance and
cooperation activities between both parties for an initial period of 2 years.
Upon the withdrawal of the
complaint and the subsequent termination of the investigation by the Chinese
authorities, the EU wine industry will provide a number of technical assistance
packages to the Chinese side in areas such as of winegrowing –
experimental vineyards and mechanization techniques - winemaking and quality
controls, marketing approaches, wine tastings, and the Geographical Indications
protection system. This assistance will be provided through activities such as
hosting study visits in Europe, seminars, and other training and internship
activities. The Chinese wine industry will assist the EU industry to organize
EU wine tastings in China, to improve the wine knowledge among the Chinese
consumers, and promote the appreciation of wines and its culture. Both parties
will set up permanent information and communication exchanges, monitor the
implementation of their cooperation, and collaborate at international level on
advocacy activities aimed on improving market access conditions in third
countries.
In the past 6 years (2007-2012)
the Chinese wine market has experienced very significant growth. EU wine
exports to China amounted to 764 million € in 2012 (71% / 546m€ from
France; Spain (11.7%, 89m€); Italy (10.1%, 77m€) – out of
overall wine exports of 8.865 billon € (8.6%).
For further
information