EU members will vote on additional tariffs for electric cars from China on Friday. The traffic light coalition was divided on this issue until the end. According to reports, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is now using his policymaking authority.
Germany wants to vote against EU punitive tariffs on Chinese electric cars in Brussels on Friday. This is reported by the news agencies Reuters and dpa, citing government circles. After disagreements in the traffic light coalition, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to make use of his authority to make directives. This would mean that Scholz would claim the last word. The Green ministries accepted this step, it said.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock from the Greens had previously spoken out against a no vote. FDP leader Christian Lindner argued for a no. In an earlier vote in Brussels, Germany abstained because of the disagreements in the traffic light government. The government spokesman did not want to comment when asked.
EU members want to vote on Friday on whether additional tariffs will be imposed on electric cars from China over the next five years. The proposed tariffs range from 7.8 percent for Tesla cars built in China to 35.3 percent for those made by Chinese automaker SAIC and other manufacturers.
This also affects German car manufacturers who import vehicles such as the electric Mini from BMW or the Volkswagen Cupra Tavascan model from the People’s Republic. The taxes are in addition to the usual EU import tariffs of ten percent for cars and would take effect from the end of October unless a qualified majority in the EU votes against it.
However, this is considered unlikely because, according to insiders, France, Italy, Poland and Greece want to vote for the taxes with a total of 39 percent of the population. A qualified majority requires at least 15 countries, which together make up 65 percent of the EU population.
Lindner had demanded “a clear announcement” from Scholz
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had demanded that the Chancellor make “a clear announcement” in case of doubt. He argued that Germany and the EU were hurting themselves by engaging in a trade war with China. German car manufacturers strictly reject the tariffs because they fear retaliation from their important sales market. Proponents of punitive tariffs argue that China will only move if it takes a tough stance.
Economics Ministry circles said the aim was fair competition and not a trade war. In order for the EU to be able to fully use its negotiating power, a different approach than saying no to punitive tariffs would have been better. Nevertheless, Economics Minister Habeck supports Chancellor Scholz’s decision. “This is not a question of faith, but rather a political tactic about how Europe can best negotiate,” it said. There must be a negotiated solution that protects the interests of Germany and the EU.
Scholz also called for negotiations with China regarding electric vehicles to continue in a speech in Berlin on Wednesday. At the same time, the Chancellor had called on the EU Commission to “finally take action where cheap Chinese imports are actually damaging our economy, for example with steel”. There, the EU states complain about dumping caused by Chinese steel imports. The Chancellor also asserted his directive authority when the Chinese state shipping company Cosco joined one of the four operating companies of the Port of Hamburg and ignored objections from the coalition partners.
The EU Commission justifies the tariffs by saying that electric car manufacturers in China benefit from subsidies and can therefore produce their vehicles more cheaply than car manufacturers in the European Union. This threatens to cause damage to domestic manufacturers. At the same time, the EU Commission has made it clear that it wants to continue to negotiate a political solution with the Chinese government. According to insiders, this could involve minimum prices for imported vehicles or investments in the EU.
Reuters/dpa/gub