EU and China Resume Negotiations to Remove High Tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles

Discussion on Setting Minimum Prices Instead of Tariffs
Building Cooperative Relations Amid Trump Tariffs
Xi Jinping and EU Leadership to Meet in Beijing in July

The European Union (EU) has agreed with China to resume negotiations on abolishing the high tariffs imposed on Chinese electric vehicles, Reuters reported on the 10th (local time).

An EU Commission spokesperson stated that in the afternoon, Maro? ?ef?ovi?, the Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, agreed to discuss with Wang Wentao, China's Minister of Commerce, a plan to set a minimum export price for Chinese electric vehicles instead of imposing tariffs.

Earlier that day, the German economic newspaper Handelsblatt reported that both sides had agreed to resume negotiations during a meeting at the end of last month, but the Commission clarified that the agreement to resume talks was made "within the last 24 hours."

China's Ministry of Commerce also announced in a statement that negotiations would "begin immediately."

Since October last year, the EU has imposed additional countervailing duties ranging from 7.8 to 35.3 percentage points on Chinese electric vehicles, citing market disruption caused by unfair subsidies from Chinese authorities. As a result, the tariff rate on Chinese electric vehicles increased from the original 10% to between 17.8% and 45.3%.

Following a request from Chinese authorities, the EU negotiated on the condition that Chinese electric vehicles would not be sold below a certain price when exported to Europe instead of imposing tariffs, but no agreement was reached.

However, amid a series of tariff announcements by the Donald Trump administration, the EU has recently begun seeking to improve relations with China. This is based on the judgment that cooperation with China is inevitable while the EU is in conflict with the US over tariffs. The negotiations on tariffs for Chinese electric vehicles are interpreted in the same context.

With an EU-China summit scheduled for July, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the EU leadership is planning to visit China to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Since President Xi is reluctant to visit Brussels, Belgium, they are considering moving the venue to Beijing. Initially, if the meeting had been held in Brussels, it was expected that Premier Li Qiang, the second-in-command, would attend instead of President Xi.