The President of the Government Spanish, Pedro Sanchezsaid on Wednesday that the European Union should reconsider proposed tariffs on imports of electric vehicles manufactured in China and urged Brussels and Beijing to find a compromise that would avoid a trade war.
Sanchez’s comments during a visit to China suggest a change of course on the part of Spainwhich had so far supported the tariffs, while expressing concern about the impact that any possible repercussions of the trade conflict between the EU and China could have on Spanish industry.
“I have to be frank. I think we need to reconsider – all of us, not just the Member States, but also the (European) Commission – our position on this movement.“, said Sanchez at an event in an industrial park in the city China from Kunshan.
“We don’t need another war, in this case a trade war. I think we need to build bridges between the European Union and China. and what we will do from Spain is to be constructive and try to find a solution and a compromise between China and the European Commission.”
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Chinese President, Xi Jinpingurged on Monday Sanchez to play a “constructive role” in improving strained ties between Beijing and Brussels.
EU member states are due to vote in October on whether to adopt additional tariffs of up to 36.3% on Chinese electric vehiclesa threat that China has countered by launching anti-dumping investigations into imports of pork and dairy products from Europe.
Dumping is a commercial practice consisting of selling a product below its normal price or even below its production cost in order to obtain competitive advantages. In a non-binding vote in July, France and Italy also voted in favour of the tariffs. Germany, Finland and Sweden abstained. EU has revised some tariffs or lowered the final proposed tariffs.
Asked whether Italy’s position on tariffs on electric vehicles had changed, Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told Reuters on the sidelines of a parliamentary question time that he hoped for a negotiated solution.“They are discussing it in Geneva right now,” Urso said, referring to a formal dispute China has initiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Any retaliation from China The tariffs could particularly affect SpainSpanish pig farmers were the bloc’s biggest exporters, with €1.5 billion ($1.66 billion) of products sold to China in 2023.
Car manufacturers Chinese They are also urging Beijing to increase tariffs on imported European gasoline carsin retaliation for Brussels’ proposed cuts to Chinese exports of electric vehicles, according to Chinese state media.
“A certain optimism”
A Spanish government source said that The delegation in China felt that Beijing saw the visit as more important than one Sanchez made in March 2023raising confidence that a deal on pork tariffs could be close.
Spain’s National Association of Meat Industries (ANICE) said it had noticed “some optimism” when listening to Sanchez his team and expressed his hope that this would be the case.
Sanchez was also in China to attract investment, especially in the renewable energy sector.Spain said on Tuesday it had signed a deal under which China’s Envision Group would build a $1 billion plant to make machinery for producing green hydrogen.
Also this week, China resumed negotiations to scrap proposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
