The European Union and China have agreed to negotiate tariffs on electric vehicles

China and the EU have agreed to start negotiations on the planned introduction of tariffs in the EU on electric vehicles manufactured in the PRC.

This is reported by Xinhua.

As noted, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis agreed on Saturday to start consultations on the EU's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric cars.

According to Bloomberg, last week the EU announced plans to impose taxes of up to 48% on electric cars imported from China.

In addition, the EU has launched a series of investigations into China, citing the PRC's unfair trade practices, such as large government subsidies. Beijing responded with threats against European goods.

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who is in China on a visit, met with Wang on Saturday and confirmed the EU's readiness to discuss the issue of tariffs.

“We have to be very careful now, this is the first step, and many others will be needed. But at least it's a first step that was not possible before. That's why tonight is a good evening if we want to try to keep a level playing field and avoid a tariff war,” — Gabek told journalists in Shanghai.

As reported by Ukrinform, in October 2023 it became known that the European Commission is investigating alleged illegal subsidies from the Chinese government to Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. This is intended to protect European manufacturers of electric cars from the flow of cheap Chinese cars.

China expressed dissatisfaction with the start of the investigation and stated that there were no grounds for its conduct.