SHANGHAI, July 4 (Reuters) - China's Commerce Ministry

issued its final ruling on brandy originating in the European

Union on Friday, implementing duties of up to 34.9% for a period

of five years starting from July 5, 2025, the ministry said in

statement.

Some companies that had made minimum price commitments,

including Pernod Ricard-owned Martell & Co and Remy

Cointreu's Remy Martin, will be spared the higher

tariff rate, according to the announcement, unless those

commitments were breached.

The ruling follows an investigation into European brandy,

most of it cognac from France, first launched last year.

French cognac makers have complained they are collateral

damage in a broader trade row between Brussels and Beijing over

import tariffs imposed on China-made electric vehicles.

China implemented the duties on cognac following an earlier

investigation last year into brandy imports, after the European

Union accused Beijing of giving its auto industry unfair

subsidies and imposed duties on imports of Chinese-made EVs.

Monthly cognac exports to China, the world's most valuable

market for the spirit, have fallen by as much as 70% due to the

trade dispute, according to data from the Bureau National

Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), an industry body.

Last week Reuters reported that French cognac makers had

reached a tentative deal on minimum import prices for the

Chinese market, but that China would only finalise the deal if

progress was made regarding EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.

The news will likely be welcomed by brandy distillers that

have also seen sales slow in the United States, the world's

biggest cognac market by volume, as a result of inflation and

economic uncertainty.