“Negotiations will continue” at a technical level between the European Union and China on the issue of tariff barriers that the EU wishes to impose on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, said Olof Gill, a spokesman for the European Commission, on Friday 25 October, following a remote discussion between the European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao (see EUROPE 13497/1).
The negotiations include minimum price commitments that Chinese manufacturers could apply to their exports of electric vehicles to the EU. In the event of an agreement with the latter, the EU could waive certain tariff barriers in a targeted manner.
Any solution will have to be “effective” in addressing the risks identified by the results of the European Commission’s investigation (see EUROPE 13430/1), guarantee a “level playing field” on the EU market and be “WTO-compatible”, said Mr Gill. “The onus is on the Chinese side to present solutions that are adequate and effective in terms of addressing the risk to injury we have identified throughout our investigation”, he added, noting a shared willingness to find a solution.
The final deadline for reaching an agreement is Wednesday 30 October. Otherwise, general countervailing duties will apply in the EU. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)