Aerial photos show export electric vehicles stacked at the Taicang Port International Container Terminal in Suzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province. The European Union and China have reportedly agreed to negotiate plans to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
STER | AFP | Getty Images
China and the European Union have agreed to negotiate plans to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles imported into the European market, senior Chinese and European officials said on Saturday.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis informed him that specific negotiations on tariffs will be held with China.
Previously, China’s Ministry of Commerce said that Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and European Commission Executive Vice President Dombrovskis had agreed to launch a consultation on the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles.
“This is something new and surprising because no concrete timetable for negotiations has been reached over the past few weeks,” Habeck said in Shanghai.
He said this was just the first step and more was needed. “We’re still far from the end, but at least it’s a first step that wasn’t possible before.”
The minister said earlier on Saturday that the EU’s door was open to discuss EU tariffs on Chinese exports.
“What I am suggesting to my Chinese partners today is that the door is open for discussion and I hope that message will be heard,” he said in his first statement in Shanghai after meeting with Chinese officials in Beijing.
Habeck is the first visit by a senior European official since Brussels proposed imposing steep tariffs on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) to combat what the EU sees as excessive subsidies.
Habeck said that there will be time for dialogue between the EU and China on the tariff issue before the tariffs take full effect in November. He believes in opening up the market, but the market needs a level playing field.
The minister said proven subsidies aimed at increasing a company’s export advantage were unacceptable.
Another point of tension between Beijing and Berlin is China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Habeck pointed out that China-Russia trade grew by more than 40% last year.
Habeck said he had told Chinese officials about the impact on their economic relations. “It is unacceptable to circumvent sanctions against Russia,” he said, adding that technology products produced in Europe should not enter the battlefield through other countries.
Meeting time
The EU will impose temporary tariffs of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese electric vehicles on July 4, and the investigation will last until November 2, when final tariffs may be imposed, usually for five years.
“This opens up a phase where negotiations can take place, where discussions are important and where dialogue is needed,” Habeck said.
Habeck earlier told Chinese officials in Beijing that the EU’s proposed tariffs on Chinese goods were not a “punishment.” “It’s important to understand that these are not punitive tariffs,” he told the first plenary session of the Climate and Transformation Dialogue.
Countries such as the United States, Brazil and Turkey have adopted punitive tariffs, but the European Union has not, he said. “Europe is doing things differently.”
Habeck said the European Commission has spent nine months conducting a detailed review of whether Chinese companies have obtained unfair benefits from subsidies.
He said any countervailing duty measures resulting from the EU review “are not punitive”, adding that such measures were intended to compensate Beijing for the advantages it gave Chinese companies.
Zheng Shanjie, director of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, responded: “We will make every effort to protect Chinese companies.”
Zheng added that the EU’s proposal to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles would harm the interests of both parties. He told Habeck that he wanted Germany to take a leadership role within the EU and “do the right thing”.
He also denied the accusation of unfair subsidies and said that the development of China’s new energy industry is the result of the comprehensive advantages of technology, market and industrial supply chain formed in fierce competition.
Zheng told the meeting that the industry’s growth “is the result of competition, not subsidies, nor the result of unfair competition.”
After meeting Zheng, Habeck spoke with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who said he would discuss the tariffs with EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis during a video conference on Saturday night.
“There’s room for maneuver, there’s room for discussion, and I hope that that room for maneuver can be used,” Habeck said.
If talks fail to reach an agreement, Chinese automaker SAIC Motor 600104.SS In response to the threat of tariffs, a series of creative products were designed.
Shao Jingfeng, chief designer of SAIC’s R&D and Innovation Headquarters, posted pictures of skateboards, hoodies, sneakers, cups, umbrellas, table tennis rackets and other products on his Weibo social media account. The colors are mainly yellow and black, with “European Union” printed on them. The badge and the number “38.1” – refers to the EU tariff level.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Shao wrote on Weibo. “Let’s remember 38.1.”
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