China proposes negotiations with EU to resolve EV tariff dispute

BEIJING (Reuters) -China has renewed its offer for talks with the European Commission to address economic and trade frictions to try to ease impending punitive tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.

During a meeting with the European Commission’s director general for trade in Brussels on Monday, Vice Commerce Minister Li Fei said China was willing to engage in dialogue and consultations, his ministry said in a statement.

The meeting took place just a day before Reuters reported that the EU was expected to lower its proposed final tariffs on Tesla (NASDAQ:) and slightly reduce rates for other Chinese electric vehicles.

The ministry emphasized that the issue of countervailing subsidies for Chinese electric vehicles was “complex” and presented significant challenges for reaching an agreement.

“China is willing to continue to work closely with the European side to reach a solution that meets the common interests of both sides and is in line with WTO rules, so as to promote the healthy and stable development of China-EU economic and trade relations,” the ministry statement said on Tuesday.

China’s renewed negotiation efforts come as it seeks to overturn proposed duties on its electric vehicles. Last week, China indicated a willingness to ease tensions by refraining from imposing provisional anti-dumping measures on EU brandy.

The European Commission is due to vote in October on whether to adopt additional duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles on top of its standard 10% import tariff.