EU presses ahead with Chinese EV tariffs after divided vote

5/10/2024 18:46

        The European Commission's decision to press ahead with tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles threatens to undermine decades of cooperation between China and the EU, and endangers climate-change goals, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.
        
        On Friday, the EU said it would push forward with hefty tariffs on China-made EVs, even after the bloc's largest economy Germany rejected them. The dispute is its biggest trade row with Beijing in a decade. State-run Xinhua said the move revealed a "deep-seated protectionist impulse".
        
        "Instead of fostering co-operation, these tariffs risk sparking a trade conflict that could harm not only China-EU relations but also Europe's own ambition for a green transition," it said.
        
        "The path forward is clear: Protectionist tariffs must be abandoned in favor of continued negotiations."
        
        European imports of Chinese-made EVs have soared in recent years, raising concerns among some domestic EV producers that they could suffer significant losses from a wave of cheap Chinese electric vehicles.