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German firms hope EU-China tariff talks can help dodge shake-up in EV business
- Germany has little to gain as Brussels slaps duties on Chinese electric vehicles and Beijing vows retaliation, business group says
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Ji Siqiin Beijing
German firms in China have yet to revise their business plans in response to the European Union’s new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and potential retaliation from Beijing, as they wait for the outcome of political negotiations, according to a business advocacy group.
The European Union’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles cannot offer protection to German carmakers or increase their competitiveness, said Maximilian Butek, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in East China.
“Now what is the goal, if you implement those [tariffs] to protect the industry, but the industry says they do not want this protection?” Butek said during a press conference on Friday.
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“As we need the Chinese market to remain open, therefore we are also longing to keep the European market open,” he said.
The EU announced last week that it would raise tariffs on Chinese EVs by up to 38 per cent from July 4, after a seven-month probe revealed some of the world’s leading EV makers had undercut European competitors with the help of vast state subsidies.
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Germany, which is expected to be affected the most by possible retaliation from Beijing, has already lobbied intensely against the duties.
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