German Economy Minister Says China’s EV Tariffs Are Not Punishment from the EU

BEIJING – Tariff proposals European Union (EU) for goods China called is not a punishment. This was conveyed by the German Economy Minister, Robert Habeck to the Chinese officials in Beijing, Saturday (22/6).

Habeck’s visit to China is the first by a senior European official since Brussels proposed high tariffs on imports electric vehicles made in China (EV) to combat what the European Union considers excessive subsidies.

China warned on Friday ahead of his arrival that rising friction with the European Union over EVs could trigger a trade war.

“It’s important to understand that these are not punitive tariffs,” Habeck said in the first plenary session of the climate and transformation dialogue.

Countries such as the US, Brazil and Turkey have used tariffs as punishment, but not the European Union, the economy minister said. “Europe is doing things differently,” he said.

Habeck explained that for nine months, the European Commission had examined in great detail whether Chinese companies were benefiting unfairly from subsidies.

Any countervailing duty measures resulting from the EU review “are not punishment”, he said. He also added that the measures were intended to compensate for the benefits given to Chinese companies by Beijing.

“Common and equitable standards for market access must be achieved,” Habeck said.