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us media: eu diplomats say vote on tariffs on chinese electric vehicles has been postponed

2024-09-20

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[global times special correspondent in germany yushan] as the chinese minister of commerce visits europe, the eu is reportedly going to postpone the vote on imposing tariffs on imported electric vehicles from china. according to a report by the european edition of the u.s. politico on the 18th, three eu diplomats said that the eu was originally scheduled to vote at a meeting on september 25, but this agenda has now been canceled.

according to the report, diplomats said that the organizers of the meeting did not explain the reason for canceling the vote, and no new voting date has been determined. they speculated that the most likely date is september 30. the european version of "politico news network" stated that in order to vote,european commissionfirst, it needs to formally share the final results of its anti-subsidy investigation with governments, but the european commission has not yet taken any action.

politico reported in europe that chinese commerce minister wang wentao met with european commission executive vice president and trade commissioner valdis dombrovskis in brussels on the 19th to "seek a compromise that can avoid additional tariffs." the report said that these tariffs range from 7.8% to 35.3%. bloomberg also reported that the chinese commerce minister is on a "whirlwind tour" in europe, hoping to visit germany, italy and the headquarters of the european union.belgiumto convince enough countries to vote against the tariffs.

on the 17th, wang wentao held talks with german vice chancellor and minister of economic affairs and climate protection habeck in berlin. wang wentao said that recently, china and the eu have held intensive consultations on the anti-subsidy case for electric vehicles, and china has made great efforts. however, the eu not only continues to insist on ruling on high anti-subsidy tariffs, but also quickly and hastily rejected the package solution proposed by the chinese industry, and has not shown the political will to solve the problem.

on the 17th, chinese minister of commerce wang wentao held talks with german vice chancellor and minister of economic affairs and climate protection habeck in berlin. (ministry of commerce website)

deutsche welle reported that the german ministry of economy said after the meeting that the central topic of the talks was about fair competition, especially in the context of the european commission's anti-subsidy investigation on imported chinese electric vehicles. according to the news released by the chinese ministry of commerce, habeck said that germany supports free trade, welcomes chinese automobile and parts companies to invest in europe, and does not agree to impose tariffs on chinese electric vehicles. german media reported that habeck said: "we need a political solution. the european commission and china should do their best to find a solution through negotiations."

earlier, the chinese industry proposed a price commitment solution. deutsche welle said that chinese exporters proposed to guarantee that product prices would be maintained above a minimum import price, but the eu did not intend to accept it.

chinese foreign ministry spokesman lin jian said in response to relevant questions on the 18th that china has always been committed to resolving issues through dialogue and consultation with the utmost sincerity, and has proposed flexible solutions. however, the eu has claimed that it is willing to resolve differences through dialogue, but has continuously rejected china's proposals and has never given any specific countermeasures. it is hoped that the eu will truly show sincerity and take action to seriously consider the reasonable concerns and suggestions of the chinese industry. if the european commission insists on its own way, china will take necessary measures to resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of chinese companies and industries.

at the china-eu electric vehicle industry chain enterprise forum held in brussels, belgium on the 18th, wang wentao said that over the past 40 years, the most notable feature of the china-eu automobile industry has been cooperation, the most valuable experience has been competition, and the most fundamental foundation has been a fair environment. he pointed out that in the face of the eu's anti-subsidy investigation on chinese electric vehicles, china will continue its efforts to negotiate and consult until the last minute.

european news network reported that beijing's efforts to persuade european countries to vote against tariffs have achieved some success in the past week. spanish prime minister sanchez and german chancellor scholz both supported china's call to resolve the dispute through negotiations. the report said that a source revealed that germany may abstain again next week unless an agreement is possible. in the initial non-binding vote on the proposed tariffs held in early july, germany abstained, spain voted in favor, and four member states voted against.

however, tobias gerke, a senior policy researcher at the european council on foreign relations, expressed doubts about whether the european commission would change its position before the vote. europe news network quoted gerke's analysis as saying that the european commission believes that doing so would harm its interests. gerke said that spain and germany's support for a negotiated solution may be due to concerns about china's tariffs on pork and internal combustion engine vehicles, which are the main export markets for spain and germany respectively. "this is obviously a trade-off for the interests of some countries." the new york times quoted kirkegaard, a researcher at the peterson institute for international economics, a us think tank, as saying that all signs show that the us approach oriented towards national security is definitely not desirable in europe.