news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

[text/observer network chen sijia] on october 4, local time, the 27 eu member states will hold a vote to decide whether to impose additional tariffs on chinese electric vehicles. according to a reuters report on the 3rd, under pressure from the german business community, the german government will vote against additional tariffs that day. german automakers are worried that the eu's new tariff policy will trigger a trade dispute between china and the eu.

the report quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that germany abstained from voting in a non-binding eu vote in july. the german business community immediately put pressure on chancellor scholz, asking him to vote against it in the formal vote. german automakers, which got about a third of their sales last year from china, are concerned that additional tariffs could lead to countermeasures from china.

germany's largest union ig metall and german automaker employee representatives said in a statement on the 3rd that germany should vote against the eu's imposition of tariffs on chinese electric vehicles. "we have made it clear that imposing additional tariffs is the wrong approach because this this move will not improve the competitiveness of the european automotive industry.”

a german government spokesman declined to comment on the news.

hong kong media "south china morning post" revealed that scholz has been in contact with other eu leaders recently in an attempt to prevent additional tariffs. noah barkin, a german expert on eu-china relations, revealed on the 1st that scholz even threatened to withdraw his support for von der leyen to be re-elected as president of the european commission.

scholz said on the 2nd that he hopes to resolve the eu's dispute over temporary countervailing duties on chinese electric vehicles through negotiations with china. he stressed that the eu's response should not cause harm to itself. german finance minister lindner also called on the german government to vote against the imposition of additional tariffs, saying that it was wrong for the european commission to "risk it in this way" by proposing additional tariffs.

german carmakers also expressed opposition. bmw group chairman oliver zipzer pointed out on the 2nd that the german government should take a clear position and vote against the imposition of additional tariffs in the eu. he warned that germany's economic prosperity depends largely on open markets and free trade and that planned eu tariffs could "trigger a trade conflict with only losers."

in addition to germany, spain also called on the eu to make concessions and seek to resolve the issue through negotiations. according to reuters, spanish minister of economy, trade and enterprise carlos quilbo recently sent a letter to european commission executive vice president and trade commissioner dombrovskis urging the eu not to impose additional tariffs on chinese electric vehicles.

quilpo pointed out in the letter that spain is the second largest automobile producer in the eu and its automobile industry is facing huge risks. “we need to strike an appropriate balance technically and politically to ensure that we both defend our own industrial interests and and avoid large-scale confrontation with major countries such as china.”

spanish prime minister sanchez said during his visit to china last month that the eu should reconsider its tariff policy. he said: "i have to be blunt and say that all of us - not just eu member states but also the european commission - need to reconsider this decision. as i said before, we don't need another war, that’s a trade war.”

the eu currently imposes a 10% tariff on all chinese electric vehicles. but in october last year, the european commission launched a countervailing investigation into electric vehicles imported from china. in august this year, the european commission released a draft final ruling on the anti-subsidy investigation, indicating that it plans to impose countervailing duties of 17% to 36.3% on chinese electric vehicles.

it is understood that only 15 member states, accounting for 65% of the eu's population, vote against it to prevent the european commission from taking this measure.

however, reuters said that france, italy, greece, poland and other countries will vote in favor, which is enough to push the eu to adopt a new tariff policy. michael clauss, germany’s representative to the eu, also told politico that most other eu countries are expected to abstain from voting, which means that the tariff policy is very likely to be passed.

klaus said that in the eu's complex procedures, abstention will not be considered a vote of opposition, and some member states can use this to express their attitude, "you do not want to oppose this proposal, but by abstaining, you send a signal that you are not a pusher." it comes through people.”

since june this year, china has been maintaining communication and consultation with the eu on the eu’s anti-subsidy case against china’s electric vehicles. on september 12, the spokesperson of the european commission claimed that the price commitment solutions submitted by the china chamber of commerce for machinery and electronics and all electric vehicle manufacturers regarding the eu electric vehicle countervailing case did not meet the requirements, and the european side planned to reject the relevant price commitment application.

according to the website of the ministry of commerce, chinese minister of commerce wang wentao met with european commission executive vice president and trade commissioner dombrovskis at the eu headquarters on the 19th to conduct a comprehensive, in-depth and constructive discussion on the eu’s anti-subsidy case against china’s electric vehicles. consultation. the two sides clearly expressed their political will to resolve their differences through consultation, agreed to continue promoting negotiations on the price commitment agreement, and were fully committed to reaching a solution acceptable to both parties through friendly dialogue and consultation.

china pointed out that the european commission launched an electric vehicle countervailing investigation without an application from the eu industry and ruled that it was illegal, unreasonable and unfair. china cannot agree or accept this, but it has always upheld the utmost sincerity and strived to properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation. the chinese industry proposed a price commitment solution within the time limit of the investigation process of this case, and further improved it based on the concerns of the european side, fully demonstrating maximum flexibility and sincerity.

china urges the eu to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of china, france and the eu on properly handling economic and trade frictions through dialogue and consultation, and take positive actions to meet each other halfway. if the eu insists on implementing unreasonable taxation measures, china will firmly make necessary responses to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises.

this article is an exclusive manuscript of observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.