BRUSSELS/BEIJING, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The EU Commission

said on Monday it had formally brought the provisional

anti-dumping measures imposed by China on imports of EU brandy

to the World Trade Organization, the latest development amid

trade tensions between the two blocs.

France's trade ministry said last month it would work with

the European Commission to challenge Beijing's tariffs, which

came after the European Union voted for duties on Chinese-made

electric vehicles.

China's commerce ministry said it had received an EU

consultation request and would handle the matter according to

WTO rules.

"The provisional anti-dumping measures were implemented

based on Chinese law, at the request of domestic industries,

after a fair and impartial investigation, and are legitimate

trade remedies fully in line with WTO rules," the ministry said.

France, whose producers including LVMH , Remy

Cointreau and PernodRicard, export huge

amounts of spirits to the Asian country, was seen as the main

targets of the brandy tariffs following Paris's outspoken

support of the Commission's efforts to protect the domestic EV

market.

French President Emmanuel Macron previously called China's

brandy probe "pure retaliation".

China is the second-largest export market for cognac after

the United States and the industry's most profitable. French

brandy shipments to China reached $1.7 billion last year and

made up 99% of China's imports of the drink.

Meanwhile, Hennessy is exploring options to bottle cognac in

China, which prompted hundreds of workers at its plant in

southwestern France to go on strike last week, while Remy said

it would raise prices in China and could cut costs in areas like

manufacturing and ad spending.