China, EU are open to talks on plans to hike tariffs on Chinese EVs

China and EU open talks on EU's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, aiming to resolve trade dispute.

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 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.

Escalating a trade dispute over Beijing’s subsidies that Brussels worries are hurting European automakers, the EU plans to impose provisional tariffs of 17.4% to 38.1% on EVs from China for four months starting on July 4. That’s on top of the 10% duties for all imported EVs. They would apply to vehicles exported to Europe by both Chinese and foreign brands, including Tesla.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said preliminary results from an investigation into Chinese EV subsidies showed the country’s battery EV ‘value chain’ benefits from ‘unfair subsidisation’ that hurts EU rivals.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao held a video conference with European Commission Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said.

“The two sides agreed to launch consultations on the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles,” it said.

“The doors are open for discussions. And I hope this message was heard,” Germany’s Economy Minister and Vice-Chancellor, Robert Habeck said while on a visit to China.