European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis speaks in Brussels, Belgium, February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool
Since announcing the planned tariff hike last month — on top of current import duties of 10 percent — the European Commision has begun talks with Beijing to try to resolve the issue, with China threatening retaliation. The rates were adjusted slightly downwards for Geely and SAIC, from an initially-announced 20 percent and 38.1 percent, after further information provided by “interested parties”, it said.
“Any negotiated outcome to our investigation must clearly and fully address EU concerns and be in respect of WTO rules,” he said in a statement. “It is plain for all to see who is escalating trade frictions and instigating a ‘trade war’,” a spokesperson for the Chinese commerce ministry said on June 21.
The EU aims to get more Europeans driving electric vehicles as it plans to outlaw the sale of new fossil fuel-powered cars from 2035.