Around 500 employees at Hennessy’s bottling plant in Cognac, France, went on strike to protest a potential plan to bottle the brandy in China to bypass the European Union’s 30% tariff on bottled brandy imposed by Beijing in October. This move would affect Hennessy and other French cognac makers, such as Remy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard. The idea was discussed by the industry group Le Syndicat des Maisons de Cognac, and while Hennessy has not commented, a bulk shipment of cognac could be tested by the end of the year. Union representative Michael Lablanche warned that this shift to China would harm workers, as it would bypass French bottling jobs. Remy Cointreau plans to raise prices in China to mitigate the tariffs’ effects.