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China seeks WTO talks over EU’s EV tariffs, says trade rules ‘severely’ violated
- China urges European Union to correct the ‘wrongdoing’ of its import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles
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Trade frictions between China and the European Union escalated on Friday, as Beijing announced its decision to take the bloc’s import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to the World Trade Organization for arbitration.
In an online statement, a Ministry of Commerce spokesman said China had filed a lawsuit against the EU at the intergovernmental organisation over its preliminary ruling announced in early July.
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“The EU’s preliminary ruling lacks factual and legal basis, seriously violates WTO rules, and undermines global cooperation in addressing climate change,” the spokesman said.
“We urge the EU to immediately correct its wrongdoing and join hands to safeguard bilateral economic and trade cooperation, as well as the stability of EV industrial chains.”
The move by China came after the EU’s additional duties of up to a revised 37.6 per cent on Chinese-battery electric vehicles took effect on July 5 and would initially last for a maximum of four months.
A European Commission spokesperson said they “took note” of Beijing’s request for consultations.
“The EU is carefully studying all the details of this request and will react to the Chinese authorities in due course according to the WTO procedures. The commission is confident of the WTO-compatibility of its investigation and provisional measures,” they said.
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While the tariffs have been provisionally set, they will need to go to a vote of the EU’s 27 member states before November.
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