EU's Tariffs on China's Electric Vehicles German Association Urges Commission to Give Up

TapTechNews July 3rd news, according to Reuters' report today, the EU's tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China will take effect on July 4th, and the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) urges the European Commission to give up this plan at the last moment.

The VDA emphasizes that the tariffs are hurting European and American automakers that export from China. Given the large volume of exports to China from Germany, the risk of China taking retaliatory tariff measures will bring a devastating blow to the German auto industry.

VDA data shows that last year, Germany's passenger car export value to China was more than three times that of China's import value, and the export value of parts suppliers was four times that of the import value. The agency said that the European Commission should focus on ensuring the European electric vehicle industry obtains key raw materials (many of which are controlled by China), reducing market access barriers and improving the transparency of trade policies, and proposed to establish a council to discuss the above issues.

The agency stated that the countervailing tariff is not an appropriate measure to strengthen Europe's long-term competitiveness and resilience.

This is not the first time the German Association of the Automotive Industry has expressed its stance. According to TapTechNews' previous report, Simon Schüz, the chief spokesperson of the German Association of the Automotive Industry, said last month that (the association) unanimously opposed the tariff increase for Chinese new energy vehicles, because this cannot solve the weak competitive situation of the European and German auto industries. Rather than raising tariffs, we need to further strengthen the economic development of Germany and the entire Europe. We firmly believe that trade conflicts are not beneficial to either side and will only bring losses to both sides.