China could ban subsidised French wine in tit for tat trade war with the EU
As Europe's biggest supplier of wine to China, France is obviously keen to sort out any trade dispute it may have with the country. French president Francois Hollande has requested a special EU meeting to forge a common stance on the EU's trade row with China.
China announced an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into EU wine on Wednesday. This is thought to be a tit for tat move in retaliation for punitive tariffs imposed on Tuesday by the European Union's executive Commission on Chinese solar exports to the 27-nation bloc. Accusing China of undercutting market prices with state subsidies, Brussels has slapped 11.8 percent higher duties on Chinese solar panels, which will rise to an average of 47.6 percent in August.
While France supported the punitive action, the move was opposed by Germany and a number of other EU member states which fear for their booming trade with the Asian economic powerhouse.