Germany, Sweden lukewarm on tariffs on Chinese electric cars

Stockholm: The leaders of Germany and Sweden expressed reservations Tuesday about possible European tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles after Washing...

Stockholm: The leaders of Germany and Sweden expressed reservations Tuesday about possible European tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles after Washington announced huge duties on Chinese EVs.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were asked at a press conference in Stockholm whether they support the EU following the United States in slapping tariffs on Chinese electric cars.

"As far as tariffs are concerned, we are in agreement that it is a bad idea... to dismantle global trade," Kristersson told reporters on the second day of Scholz's visit to Sweden.

Scholz noted that half of EVs imported from China were produced by Western manufacturers.

"There are European and North American manufacturers that succeed on the Chinese market and which sell their vehicles in China, we need to remember that," he said, stressing the importance of trade between the West and China.