25/11/2024 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 25 November, the European Commission announced that it had requested consultations with China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the latter’s tariffs on European wines and spirits (see EUROPE 13499/27). The EU states that Beijing has not proven the harm that European wines and spirits would cause to the Chinese industry, and that the provisional tariffs therefore do not comply with WTO rules. In addition, the opening of the investigation also lacked sufficient evidence, according to the European Commission. As part of these consultations, the EU and China now have 60 days to reach an agreement, after which the EU will be in a position to call for the establishment of an arbitration panel if no agreement is reached. In September, the Commission had already referred the Chinese dairy products investigation to the WTO (see EUROPE 13488/15). (LM)