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Shanghai, China — French foreign trade minister Sophie Primas on Monday said the window for negotiation with Beijing over tariffs on European brandy was open but warned Paris could take “all possible” measures in response.
Beijing in October announced provisional tariffs on European Union brandy imports, part of an escalating trade row between Beijing and Brussels.
Most Chinese imports of the spirit come from France and the country’s cognac makers have begged Paris to put an end to the spat, describing themselves as “hostages”.
“France is in favor of negotiations, obviously. We are not in an escalating trade war, so we need to enter negotiations,” Primas told reporters in Shanghai on Monday.
Primas had an hour-and-a-quarter-long meeting with commerce minister Wang Wentao on Sunday evening ahead of a major trade show.
