EU Unagrees on 37.6% Tariff on Chinese Electric Cars

BERLIN – Germany is said to have abstained in the vote by member states European Union (EU) when imposing temporary tariffs on domestically made electric vehicles China . This has the potential to be a new chapter in trade war between China and Europe.

The EU previously set a temporary tariff of up to 37.6% on electric cars imported from China. While it does not require support from member states, the final decision on tariffs could be blocked if a majority of the EU’s 27 members voted against it.

As reported by Reuters, abstaining in this first stage effectively means supporting the European Commission to continue negotiations with Beijing on the EU’s biggest trade case.

The European Union’s largest economy will abstain as the anti-subsidy probe continues and negotiations between the EU Commission and the Chinese government are ongoing, the sources told Reuters. They declined to be identified because the decision is confidential.

Germany will abstain in a spirit of “critical solidarity” with the European Commission, one of the sources said.

German automakers, which made a third of their sales last year in China, have opposed the tariffs, fearing that retaliatory action could hurt trade relations with their two most important trading partners.

France has been one of the strongest supporters, while Hungary has condemned it. Other members are still undecided about how to vote, on the first official test of the Commission’s tariff measures.

The European Union launched an investigation without any complaints from industry.