The European Commission announces that it is continuing discussions with China on EU tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and that it may reconsider the agreement on minimum prices that the EU previously rejected.
EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis and Chinese trade minister Wang Ventao discussed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles a few days ago. They met as the European Commission prepares to propose tariffs of up to 35.3 percent on electric cars made in China, on top of the standard 10 percent import duties on cars.
The spokesperson of the Commission said that they “honestly and constructively” discussed the tariffs on electric vehicles, and Dombrovskis emphasized that the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation against China will continue and that it is based on facts and aimed at enabling equal competitive conditions.
“Both sides reaffirmed their political will to continue and intensify efforts to find a mutually acceptable solution that should be effective in solving the problem, enforceable and compatible with the World Trade Organization,” said the spokesperson of the European Commission.
The 27 EU member states are expected to vote on the proposed final tariffs on September 25, and if approved by a qualified majority of the EU Council, they would be introduced by the end of October and remain in place for five years.
Brussels has accused Beijing of artificially lowering the prices of its electric cars with subsidies and thereby trying to squeeze European competitors out of the lucrative market. After a months-long investigation, the Commission found that China subsidized the entire supply and production chain of electric cars.
Beijing called the Commission’s investigation a “protectionist act” that went too far in its findings, and in response launched several investigations into European exports of pork, alcoholic beverages and dairy products. But behind the scenes, Chinese officials have been working to find an amicable solution to the dispute and protect domestic firms from high tariffs.
In parallel, Beijing lobbied certain EU member states to vote against. The introduction of tariffs is strongly opposed by Hungary, as well as by German car manufacturers, who made a third of their sales in China last year, because they are worried about retaliatory measures and fear a trade conflict with Germany’s second most important trading partner.
A minor twist occurred last week when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, during a visit to Beijing, said that the European Commission should reconsider the tariff proposal. “We don’t need another war, in this case a trade war,” said the Prime Minister of Spain, which previously agreed to the introduction of tariffs.
Source: Seebiz.eu
Photo: Arhiva Autoblog.rs / Aiways
Source: autoblog.rs
