The European Union and China must avoid a damaging trade war over electric cars at all costs, German vice chancellor Robert Habeck said Tuesday, as tensions mount over planned EU tariffs on Chinese EVs.
“We absolutely want to avoid a trade conflict with spiralling tariffs that ultimately harms both sides,” said Habeck after meeting Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Berlin.
“The European Commission and China should do everything they can to find a negotiated solution,” added Habeck, who is also Germany’s economy minister.
The European Commission, which leads the EU’s trade policy, announced last month it would slap import duties of up to 36 percent on electric vehicles imported from China.
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.
China last month filed an appeal against the EU’s duties with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has also targeted the bloc’s dairy imports with an anti-subsidy probe.
Wang will meet with the EU’s trade commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the EV tariffs.
His visit comes as divisions over duties widen in the bloc. Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez surprised many on Wednesday when he urged the EU to “reconsider” tariffs.
Germany, home to some of the world’s biggest car manufacturers, has been vocal in its opposition to tariffs.
Habeck said Germany did “not shy away from competition with China”.
But “we must ensure fair competitive conditions”, he added.
A European Commission official has said the EU executive remained “open” to resolving the dispute without resorting to tariffs — but that the ball was in China’s camp to offer an alternative solution.
