The technical part of negotiations between China and the European Union on electric vehicles (EVs) has been largely completed, a social media account linked to China Central Television said in a post on Weibo this Friday.
Both sides seek to avert a broader trade conflict following Brussels’ move late last year to impose provisional tariffs on Chinese-made fully electric vehicles.
According to a post on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo by Yuyuantantian (玉渊谭天), “The technical part of the China-EU electric vehicle negotiations is basically complete, and only one step remains.”
“The key lies in whether the EU side can demonstrate the political will needed to promote a resolution,” Yuyuantantian added in the post.
The statement comes amid increasing diplomatic efforts to deescalate a looming tariff battle. Last week, Reuters reported that France’s cognac producers had reached a tentative agreement with Chinese authorities on setting minimum import prices.
However, Beijing indicated the deal would only be finalized if there was movement on the EV dispute, according to five sources familiar with the matter.
On July 4, the European Commission confirmed provisional anti-subsidy tariffs on EVs made in China, citing distorted market conditions due to what it described as “unfair subsidisation.”
BYD faces since late last year a 17.4% duty, Geely 20%, and SAIC 38.1%. These are on top of the existing 10% import duty, bringing the total levies to as much as 48.1% for SAIC.
Geely owns Volvo Cars and Polestar, while SAIC operates MG, a budget brand popular across Europe.
Other manufacturers, including joint ventures with Volkswagen and BMW, are subject to a blanket rate of 21%. The only exception is Tesla, which was granted an individually assessed duty of 7.8%.
China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said last month it held talks with the European Union on tariffs imposed on Chinese-made electric vehicles, as well as broader economic and trade relations.
Last October, China had proposed setting a minimum price of €30,000 for Chinese-made electric vehicles sold in Europe.
However, the EU rejected the proposal, arguing that the problem went beyond pricing and insisting on the state subsidies that distort fair competition in the European market.
Last year, the EU imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports after determining the industry received significant government subsidies, which led to unfair trade in the region.
In April, as Trump’s new tariffs took place, EU Trade Commissioner Sefcovic and China’s Commerce Minister Wang agreed to investigate the possibility of setting minimum prices for the imported EVs as an alternative to tariffs.
