French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his support for EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles during a visit to Berlin on Wednesday.
Macron had previously met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose government fears a trade war with China that could damage Germany’s crucial auto sector.
Brussels plans to impose additional duties of up to 36 percent on electric vehicles imported from China. Member states are expected to vote on the issue on Friday.
The European Commission announced the tariffs in July, following the conclusion of an anti-subsidy investigation that found China provided unfair state aid to carmakers.
“I support the European Commission in this,” Macron said when questioned about the issue at the Global Dialogue event in Berlin.
European manufacturers had to “compete with some car manufacturers who produce in China with an existing advantage,” Macron said.
The Chinese subsidies introduced a “bias” into the market, Macron said.
Failure to re-create a level playing field with Chinese manufacturers in this area, he warned, could jeopardize hopes of “producing and maintaining your industrial footprint in Europe.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Scholz called for an open dialogue with China on the issue of electric cars.
“We must protect our economy against unfair trade practices,” Scholz said in a speech to the German Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services.
Scholz also reiterated the need for a level playing field, but said the EU’s response “must not lead us to harm ourselves.”
“That is why negotiations with Beijing on electric vehicles must continue,” Scholz said, adding that action was needed where China was “actually hurting our economy, such as the steel sector.”
Germany’s all-important carmakers have come out strongly against the EU tariffs, fearing retaliation from China that could hurt sales in the key Asian market.
Speaking at the same event as Macron in Berlin, the head of Mercedes-Benz, Ola Kallenius, said tariffs were a “crude instrument”.
And BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said in a statement that the German government “must vote against the introduction of additional tariffs.”
Import taxes “disadvantage global businesses in this country and could trigger a trade dispute that benefits no one,” Zipse said.
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