In their recent meeting, Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and the European Commission’s Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis agreed to settle differences over Europe’s tariffs on China-made electric vehicle (EV) imports.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, Dombrovskis agreed to continue negotiating price commitments on EV imports from China. Wang and Dombrovskis decided that the two nations would do their best to reach a mutually acceptable solution.
As of this writing, The Commission has reportedly reduced its tariff rates for China-made EV imports to 35.3%. The automakers that received individual rates, like BYD, Geely, Tesla, and Volkswagen, will also allegedly receive lowered duties. For instance, Tesla’s rate will reportedly drop from 9% to 7.8%.
During his meeting with the Commissioner, Minister Wang emphasized that the European Commission initiated its anti-subsidy probe on China’s EV imports without a formal complaint from European industries. He noted that the probe’s rulings are non-compliant, unreasonable, and unfair.
The Chinese Minister also reminded Dombrovskis that China had proposed a price commitment solution during the Commission’s investigation. He added that China had improved its price commitment proposal to address concerns from the EU. The Commission has not rejected China’s proposals so far.
According to the Ministry’s account of the meeting, Wang cautioned that China will take necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises.
“China has the responsibility to safeguard the justified demands and legitimate rights of its domestic industries,” stated China’s Ministry of Commerce.
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