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[text/observer network qi qian] as expected, the german government joined spain in calling on the european union to abandon its plan to impose tariffs on chinese electric vehicles.

on september 11, spanish prime minister pedro sánchez ended his four-day visit to china. when asked by the media about the eu's tariffs on china, he said: "i must be frank and say that all of us - not only eu member states, but also the european commission - need to reconsider this decision."

according to bloomberg on september 12, german federal government spokesman steffen herberstreit welcomed the spanish prime minister's statement and responded, "this is our common direction of action."

it is reported that the 27 eu member states will hold a final vote next month on whether to continue to impose high tariffs on chinese electric vehicles. if 15 member states, accounting for 65% of the eu population, vote against it, theneuropean commissionthe european commission may believe that the opposition expressed by two major member states, spain and germany, will affect how the agency negotiates with china on the matter.

prior to this, germany's opposition to the imposition of tariffs on chinese electric vehicles was obvious, and chancellor scholz had made similar remarks. in an interview with bloomberg last year, he said: "we want to sell our cars everywhere, in europe, north america, japan, china, africa, south america. but this means we are also willing to import cars from other countries."

bloomberg believes that sanchez's latest statement "pushes himself into a geopolitical minefield" and "this is a rare situation for sanchez, who usually aligns with the mainstream opinion of the european union." his remarks surprised some officials in european countries and the eu headquarters because he rarely clashed with the eu before and is said to have a good working relationship with european commission president ursula von der leyen.

however, before sanchez's visit to china, officials close to him said spain would always align with the broader eu position, but sanchez hoped to be a bridge to avoid a china-eu trade war.

it is reported that for germany and spain, the eu's plan to impose additional tariffs on chinese electric vehicles will have an adverse impact on their countries.

volkswagen,bmwgerman automakers such as germany will be hit hardest in the trade dispute as they sold 4.6 million vehicles in china in 2022. spain, the second largest car producer in the european union, is seeking to attract investment from china to develop its electric vehicle industry, which is part of the reason why sanchez is visiting china this week.

china is also spain's largest trading partner outside the eu, with trade between the two countries reaching $48.6 billion in 2023. this year, china has announced anti-dumping investigations on brandy, pork, dairy products and other products imported from europe. as the eu's largest pork exporter to china, spain has previously expressed the hope that there will be "room for negotiation" between europe and china because "trade wars are not good for anyone."

germany and spain are not the only two member states that are skeptical of the eu's position. in may, swedish prime minister kristersson also warned against taking a tough stance on china's trade. he said the eu should not "undermine global trade" and "a wider trade war and blocking each other's products is not the way out for industrial countries such as germany and sweden."

in addition, on september 11, norwegian prime minister støre, who was on an official visit to china, also pointed out: "norway is not a member of the european union, and we do not have a common trade policy (with the european union). therefore, norway will not unilaterally impose sanctions (on chinese electric vehicles)."

with the rapid rise of china's auto industry, the european commission announced in october last year that it would "take action" against chinese electric vehicles and launched an anti-subsidy investigation. in july this year, the european commission announced a preliminary ruling to impose a temporary anti-subsidy tax of 17.4% to 37.6% on chinese electric vehicles. on august 20, the eu disclosed the draft of the final anti-subsidy investigation results on chinese electric vehicles, making a slight adjustment to the proposed tax rate, up to 36.3%.

bloomberg pointed out that eu member states must vote on whether to continue to impose tariffs by the end of october. if a majority of member states fail to block these measures, the european commission will publish the final rules for the five-year tariffs by october 30.

chinese and eu officials are expected to meet later this month to discuss whether the two sides can reach an agreement before the tariffs take effect, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named. another senior european diplomat from a country that supports tariffs said they believe there is still a majority of member states supporting tariffs and will persuade spain to support the european commission on the issue.

regarding the latest progress of the eu's anti-subsidy case against china's electric vehicles, a spokesperson for china's ministry of commerce said on september 10 that the anti-subsidy case against electric vehicles is complex and has a wide impact. it is challenging for china and the eu to reach an agreement through consultations. however, china believes that as long as the eu shows sincerity and moves toward each other, the concerns of both sides can be resolved through consultations. china is willing to continue to work closely with the eu to strive to reach a solution that is in the common interests of both sides and in line with wto rules as soon as possible, and promote the healthy and stable development of china-eu economic and trade relations.

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