German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he expects negotiations with China to settle a dispute over the EU’s threatened punitive tariffs on imported Chinese electric cars.
“Of course we must protect our economy against unfair trade practices,” Scholz said on Wednesday at a conference organized by the foreign trade association BGA in Berlin.
“However, our response as the EU must not lead to harming ourselves. That is why negotiations with China on electric vehicles must continue.”
Scholz went on to say that action must be taken where cheap Chinese imports actually hurt the economy, for example in the case of steel.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) and its principles must be given more respect, Scholz said. If the WTO could exercise its jurisdiction to settle trade disputes, there would be fewer tariff disputes.
The jurisdiction for settling trade disputes must function again, then customs disputes will be less necessary, he added. China must give up the special treatment it enjoys as a developing country.
The vote at EU level on car tariffs is scheduled for Friday. Discussions are currently underway to decide how the German government will vote.
