Officials say that China and the European Union are open to holding talks on the EU’s recent decision to sharply raise tariffs on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles
BANGKOK — China and the European Union are open to holding talks on the EU’s recent decision to sharply raise tariffs on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, officials from both sides say.
China’s Commerce Ministry and Germany’s economy minister said over the weekend that each side was willing to hold talks on the issue. Meanwhile, Chinese state media said Monday that Beijing is pushing for the EU to give up plans to sharply raise provisional tariffs on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles by July 4.
“It’s not a small issue for us,” Scholz added, pointing to Germany’s export strength and its auto sales to China. “Our industry is confident in global competition; that’s perhaps the difference between the German business and industrial model and some others, where protectionist measures generate more enthusiasm.”
China’s Commerce Ministry on Thursday accused the EU of making unreasonable demands in its investigation into imports of Chinese electric vehicles before it announced it was raising tariffs by as much as 38%.
Ministry spokesman He Yadong said the European side had demanded excessive amounts of information from Chinese automakers and then unfairly accused the Chinese companies of failing to cooperate.
Beijing said last week that it was opening an anti-dumping investigation into pork exports from Europe. In announcing that, the Commerce Ministry did not mention EV tariffs. But the investigation into various pork products was widely seen as a response to the EU measures on electric cars.
The European side has said it wants to discuss the findings of its investigation with Chinese authorities to find ways to resolve the issues.