On October 12, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce of China responded to the issues related to the "EU-China consultation on the countervailing subsidy case on electric vehicles", saying that there are still major differences between the two sides, and that so far the consultation has not yet reached a solution that is acceptable to both sides.
On October 12, a reporter asked, according to relevant information, China and Europe on the EU electric vehicle countervailing case for more than 20 days of consultation, today the Chinese team has returned to China. May I ask what progress has been made in the consultation? According to relevant reports, the European Commission is conducting price commitment negotiations with some enterprises separately on the EU's countervailing subsidy case on electric vehicles. What is China's comment on this?
In this regard, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce of China said that on September 19, Minister Wang Wentao held talks with the Executive Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Trade, Mr. Dombrovskis, and both sides agreed to continue to promote the negotiations on the price commitment agreement on the EU's countervailing duty case on electric vehicles, and to commit to reaching a solution acceptable to both sides through friendly dialogue and consultation.
In the more than 20 days since September 20, the China-EU technical team has conducted eight rounds of intensive consultations in Brussels. After strenuous efforts, both sides have made important progress in some areas. China has fully listened to the demands and opinions of the Chinese and European industries, and has repeatedly proposed pragmatic and constructive solutions to the specific concerns of the European side during the consultations, demonstrating the utmost sincerity and flexibility. Regrettably, however, the European side has not responded positively to the core concerns of the Chinese and European industries, and the two sides still have major differences, and so far the consultations have not reached a solution acceptable to both sides.
It should be emphasized that China's attitude and sincerity in seeking a solution through dialogue and consultation have not changed, and the European side has been formally invited to send a technical team to China as soon as possible to continue the next phase of face-to-face consultations, and has made all preparations for this. It is hoped that the European side will work with the Chinese side, make arrangements to come to China as soon as possible and accelerate the consultations with a constructive attitude, so as to reach a proper solution at an early date.
On the second issue, we have noted the relevant reports. It should be emphasized that China has been conducting dialogue and consultations with the European side with the utmost sincerity and goodwill. We believe that different types of Chinese enterprises, including European enterprises in China, have authorized the China Chamber of Commerce for Electrical and Mechanical Services (CCCEMS) to put forward a price commitment proposal representing the overall position of the industry, which is the basis of the current Sino-European consultations. If the European side, while consulting with the Chinese side, conducts price commitment negotiations with some enterprises individually, it will shake the foundation of the negotiations and mutual trust, and will bring interference to the consultations between the two sides, which is not conducive to advancing the overall process of consultations. China hopes that the European side will fully demonstrate its sincerity, take the core concerns of the industry seriously, and reach a solution acceptable to all parties as soon as possible on the basis of the current consultations.
On October 4, representatives of EU member states voted to adopt the draft final ruling on the EU's countervailing duty case on electric vehicles submitted by the European Commission, proposing to impose a final countervailing duty on electric vehicles originating in China.
The voting result of the EU member states shows that 10 countries are in favor, 5 countries are against, and 12 countries abstain from voting (the European rules set that abstention is still regarded as approval). This means that the EC can impose high countervailing duties on electric vehicles originating from China for five years.
Previously, the European Commission has announced a tariff scheme of countervailing duties on Chinese imports of electric cars on top of the original 10% tariff, which is 7.8% for Tesla, 17% for BYD, 18.8% for Geely Automobile, 20.7% for other companies cooperating with the investigation, and 35.3% for SAIC and companies not cooperating with the investigation.