China hopes for a solution with EU on EV tariffs ‘as soon as possible’

BEIJING – China hopes to soon reach an agreement with the European Union on the bloc’s planned tariffs on imported Chinese electric cars, the Commerce Ministry said Thursday.

The European Commission announced in mid-June that if talks with China did not go well, the bloc would impose additional duties on imported Chinese EVs on Thursday, July 4. “Definitive measures” It would take effect four months after that date, according to a press release.

“We hope that the European side will work with China to meet each other halfway, show sincerity, speed up the consultation process and, on the basis of rules and reality, reach a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible,” the Chinese ministry said of Handel. spokesman He Yadong told reporters in Mandarin, according to a CNBC translation.

He reiterated China’s opposition to the European Union’s anti-subsidy investigation and pointed out that both sides still have a four-month period.

Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao and European Commission Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis met virtually on June 22 to discuss the EU investigation, the Commerce Department said.

Spokesman He said on Thursday that the two sides had held several rounds of talks at the technical level, but he did not indicate whether the talks were still ongoing or had ended.

The EU launched an investigation last year into the role of subsidies in Chinese production of electric vehicles. The new energy vehicle industry, which includes hybrid and battery-only cars, has grown rapidly in China and automakers such as BYD have started exporting the vehicles to Europe and other regions.

According to a study, the Chinese government has spent $230.8 billion on developing the electric car industry in more than a decade. analysis by the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.