The European Commission emphasized on Wednesday that the EU does not subsidize the production of wine for export after China announced an anti-dumping investigation in response to the European decision to impose tariffs on Chinese solar panels.
“The European Union subsidizes the production of wine, but not wine for export,” said Roger Waite, spokesperson for the Commission for Agriculture. Of the total European wine exports, 11.4 percent goes to China, with a total value of over 750 million euros. The largest exporters are France, Spain, and Italy.
After the European Commission, despite opposition from several member states, imposed temporary protective tariffs on imports of Chinese solar panels, China retaliated by opening an investigation to determine whether the European Union subsidizes the production of wine that ends up in the Chinese market. The Commission opted for progressive measures – as of June 6, a tariff of 11.8 percent is in effect, and two months later it will average 47.6 percent if the EC fails to reach an agreement with China.
China is the largest producer of solar panels in the world, which, with the help of state subsidies, it exports to the European market at very low prices. In 2011 alone, it exported them to the EU worth 21 billion euros. This has led to protests from European producers, who find themselves in great difficulty as they cannot compete with the prices of the Chinese.
Several member states, including Germany, do not support the Commission’s decision to impose protective tariffs as they fear retaliatory measures and a trade war with China, where a large part of their exports ends up.
