“The EU and China have clearly made progress on the tariff dispute over electric vehicles,” German television channel 1 reported on the 12th, saying Brussels had released a document, outlines how to set a minimum price for electric cars imported from China to the EU.
On the 12th, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China also announced that the EU will issue a“Guiding document on the submission of price undertaking applications”, confirming in the document that the EU will uphold the principle of non-discrimination, in accordance with the relevant provisions of WTO rules, the same legal criteria apply to each application for price undertakings and are assessed in an objective and impartial manner.
German business daily and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung provided further details, saying that on the 12th, the European Commission published General Guidelines for price commitments, chinese exporters of pure electric vehicles must submit price commitments to the European Union, coordinating their minimum prices directly with Brussels, but also information on distribution channels, cross-subsidies and future investment plans in the EU.
A spokesman for the European Commission said a minimum import price could replace existing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, German TV station 1 reported. The spokesperson stressed that this is only a guidance document and further measures are needed in the future.
For the Chinese side, additional tariffs on electric vehicles of up to 35.3 percent are the biggest source of trade tensions with the EU, according to Reuters. The move follows a series of talks between the two sides to find an alternative to tariffs. The China Chamber of Commerce for machinery and electronics hailed the“Soft landing” in the tariff dispute over electric vehicles, the business daily said. The move could boost market confidence and provide greater stability and predictability for Chinese manufacturers and suppliers in Europe, the chamber said on Social Platform X.