French cognac workers protest China bottling plan amid tariff threat
Hundreds of employees of French cognac maker Hennessy on Thursday staged a protest over potential measures to circumvent Chinese tariffs imposed in a spat with the European Union.
Staff in the town of Cognac in southwestern France, from which the iconic brandy takes its name, earlier this month went on strike to protest a plan to export the drink in vats, rather than bottles.
Bottles will be subject to additional taxes estimated at 35 percent from China, Cognac's second-largest export market after the United States.
Hennessy management announced Monday that they would put the plan on ice and the strike had come to an end.
But concern remains strong that Hennessy, part of the LVMH luxury group, and other leading brands will bow to pressure and export their brandies in bulk for bottling in China.
"This idea of relocating bottling is opening a Pandora's box that could be disastrous," said Tommy Dupuis, who has worked in the Hennessy factory for 13 years.
AOC extention?
The protesters are demanding in particular an extension of France's controlled designation of origin (AOC) labelling system – which aims to protect locally produced products – to include rules protecting local bottling, along the lines of the fizzy drink champagne.
"If the BNIC makes this decision, we will be able to protect our AOC from A to Z," said Dupuis.
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