EU and China set for talks on planned EV tariffs
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STORY: GERMANY ECONOMY MINISTER ROBERT HABECK "...the doors are open for discussions and I hope that this message was heard."
China and the European Union have agreed to start talks on the planned tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) being imported into the European market, senior officials on both sides said on Saturday (June 22).
The news comes as Germany's economy minister, Robert Habeck, visited Beijing and Shanghai...
the first trip by a senior European official to China since Brussels proposed hefty duties on EV imports to combat what the EU considers excessive subsidies.
Habeck said he had been informed by EU commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis that there would be concrete negotiations.
The confirmation came after the head of China's commerce ministry and Dombrovskis had agreed to start consultations over the EU's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs.
Habeck called it a first step and said many more would be necessary.
Zheng Shanjie, the chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, denied accusations of unfair subsidies, saying the development of the country's new energy industry was the result of fierce competition.
He told Habeck that he hoped Germany would demonstrate leadership within the EU and that proposed EU duties on Chinese-made EVs would hurt both sides.
The EU's provisional duties of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese EVs are set to apply by July 4, with the investigation set to continue until Nov. 2, when definitive duties, typically for five years, could be imposed.
