A European Commission spokesperson stated that the European Union and China have agreed to explore setting a minimum price for electric vehicles manufactured in China, instead of the tariffs imposed by the EU last year.
The EU spokesperson added that EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic spoke with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and the two sides agreed to explore setting a minimum price, according to Reuters.
The EU increased tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles to up to 45.3% last October, but Brussels and Beijing have floated the idea of raising the tariffs through potential minimum price commitments, known as price undertakings for imported vehicles.
The European Commission announced that it is ready to continue negotiating an alternative to the tariffs with China, which includes a 17.0% tariff on cars manufactured by BYD, 18.8% for Geely, and 35.3% for SAIC, in addition to the EU’s standard 10% car import tariff.
The discussions aim to find a possible truce in the long-running dispute, which has also troubled alcoholic beverage manufacturers in France and Europe, as Beijing has taken retaliatory trade measures.
The German Automotive Industry Association (VDA) welcomed the talks between the European Union and China, describing the tariffs as a “mistake” and calling for a negotiated solution.
German automakers had opposed the tariffs, fearing a trade conflict with the country’s second-largest trading partner after the United States.
It is worth noting that German automakers, generated a third of their sales in China last year ,and are now facing problems with the US tariffs imposed by Trump, which could cause significant sales losses for the European auto industry.
