China said it was “deeply disappointed” on Friday with the European Commission‘s decision to reject a minimum import price proposal aimed at warding off tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
The European Commission, which leads the EU’s trade policy, announced last month it would slap import duties of up to 36 % on electric vehicles imported from China.
China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao will travel to Brussels next week in a last-ditch effort to stop the tariffs.
“The European Commission ignored the sincerity and efforts of the Chinese industry and plans to reject the flexible solution proposed by the Chinese industry without in-depth communication,” a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
“China is deeply disappointed by this.”
The commission’s rejection of several Chinese firms’ offers for price undertakings, which set minimum import prices for exporters to offset subsidies is “inconsistent with the expectations of EU member states”, the ministry said.
“The Chinese side has the greatest sincerity in resolving differences through dialogue and consultation, while also having the greatest determination to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises”.
The tariffs will become definitive and last for five years after a vote by the European Union’s 27 member states, expected before the end of October.
The EU decided in July to levy extra tariffs after an anti-subsidy probe concluded car manufacturers in China benefitted unfairly from state subsidies.
But divisions over duties have widened in the bloc recently, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urging the EU to “reconsider” tariffs on Wednesday while on an official visit to China.
On Thursday, a commission spokesperson said “several Chinese exporters” had submitted minimum import price proposals, but that none of the offers met Europe’s requirements.
China last month filed an appeal against the EU’s duties with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and also targeted the bloc’s dairy imports with an anti-subsidy probe.
That came after China launched an anti-dumping investigation in June into pork imports from the bloc. Spain is the EU’s largest exporter of pork products to China.
