German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Tuesday called on the European Union and China to find a negotiated solution to tax Chinese electric cars to avoid a trade war..
“We want to avoid a trade war with a spiral of tariffs that ultimately hurts both sides,” Habeck said in a statement after meeting in Berlin with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
The Chinese minister is scheduled to head to Brussels on Thursday to try to persuade European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to abandon the tariffs announced by the European Commission.
Germany, in turn, is stepping up pressure on negotiators after Spain last week asked the Commission to review its position, through its Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during his visit to Shanghai.
Germany welcomed the statements, saying, “We share the same approach.”
“China is of great importance to the German and European economy, and on the other hand China also has a great interest in trade with us,” Habeck said on Tuesday.
On August 20, the European Commission announced its decision to impose additional duties for five years on electric cars imported from China, including those produced by the American company Tesla at its factory in Shanghai.
The Commission accuses Beijing of weakening competition by massively subsidising domestic manufacturers, allowing them to offer their cars at cheaper prices.
For its part, the European Union wants to protect the automotive sector, which employs 14.6 million workers.
In response, Beijing launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of pork and pork products, of which Spain is the largest European exporter to China.
The tariffs must be approved by the EU’s 27 member states before the end of October before they become final, but they are divided over the tax, which has broad support within the European Council.
To confront the Commission, opponents must gather the votes of 15 countries representing 65% of the EU population.
