China and EU Trade Chiefs Reaffirm Price Commitment as Alternative Solution ...

TMTPost -- During their video call Friday, China and the European Union’s senior officials reaffirmed price commitment as an alternative solution to the electric vehicle (EV) tariff dispute.

China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and European Commission Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis held a talk via video link on Friday. The two sides have decided to continue to make price commitment as the solution to the case, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM).

China and the EU have reiterated willingness to solve the dispute over EU's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs through dialogue, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. According to the report, the minister Wang proposed in the talk that the next stage of price commitment negotiations should be conducted on the basis of mutual consideration of core concerns, in accordance with the principles of "pragmatism and balance", taking into account the effectiveness of the agreement and the core interests of businesses. Wang said a bilateral communication mechanism for price commitment implementation and supervision should be established on the basis of mutual trust.

Wang stressed China will unswervingly defend the legitimate rights and interests of businesses. He urged the EU will work with China to further push forward the consultations, achieve substantive breakthroughs as soon as possible, meet the expectations of all sectors in both China and the bloc, and safeguard the common interests of industries of both sides.

The EU side proposed technical teams of both sides to discuss the specific suggestions that the EU has put forward via video, and China agreed to immediately launch the next stage of consultations and welcome the EU team to come to China as soon as possible, Xinhua reported.

According to the two sides also exchanged views on China's trade remedy investigations into the brandy pork and dairy products originating in the EU. China stressed that these cases were initiated under the request of domestic industries, and all of them are in accordance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and the country’s laws and regulations. China will continue to conduct these probes and fully protect the rights of all stakeholders.

Dombrovskis and Wang reaffirmed their political commitment to finding a mutually agreeable solution, which would need to be effective in addressing the level playing field in the EU market and WTO-compatible, according to a press of the European Commission released Friday.

The Commission said the principals took stock of the progress made during eight technical negotiating rounds, as well as significant remaining gaps, and agreed that further technical negotiations would take place shortly. Dombrovskis raised concerns about the ongoing Chinese anti-dumping case against brandy and the initiations on pork and dairy, which the EU side finds unsubstantiated, according to the Commission.

The recent video call came as up to 45% deputies on Chinese EV are set to go into effect by the end of this month. The European Commission announced in July it imposed provisional countervailing duties of up to 37.6%, on top of the ordinary battery electric vehicles (BEV) import duty of 10%, on imports of BEVs from China. The Commission disclosed on October 4 its proposal to impose definitive countervailing duties on imports of BEVs from China has obtained the necessary support from EU Member States for the adoption of tariffs. The announcement cleared hurdles for the EU to introduce up to 45% definitive tariffs following an anti-subsidy investigation. Since a qualified majority of 15 EU members completed, the proposed definitive tariffs are set to go into effect from next month for five years.

Technical teams from China and the EU have conducted eight rounds of intensive negotiations since Sept. 20 in Brussels, but China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) earlier this month said both sides major differences still remain, despite important progress in certain areas.

The MOFCOM spokesperson He Yadong said last week that China has demonstrated utmost sincerity and flexibility, and the two sides have made important progress in certain areas. “However, significant differences remain at this stage of the negotiation process, as the EU has failed to actively respond to the core concerns of both Chinese and European industries,” He said.

China is studying increasing tariffs on imported fuel-powered vehicles with large-displacement engines, and will make a decision prudently after comprehensive consideration of various factors, said He.