Commission Rejects Chinese EV Makers Offers To Avoid Tariffs

(MNI) London - The EU has rejected offers from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers to adjust their prices in an effort to avoid the imposition of tariffs at the end of October. Earlier today Olof Gill, the EU's trade spox, said following offers by Chinese firms to adjust their prices the Commission had examined the impact and that, “Our review focused on whether the offers would eliminate the injurious effects of subsidies and could be effectively monitored and enforced. The commission has concluded that none of the offers met these requirements,”

• China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will travel to Brussels on Wednesday 18 September for talks with Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. While the initial offer was rejected, Gill said that the Commission “remains open to finding a negotiated solution” with China.
• The tariffs - ranging from a proposed 37.6% on SAIC to 9% on Tesla vehicles - come amid EU concerns that the Union's EV industry could face a similar fate to that of its solar panel manufacturing sector, which has been largely wiped out in the face of cheaper Chinese imports.
• There is no guarantee that the vote to permanently impose tariffs will succeed. Following his trip to Beijing earlier this week, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has said the EU needs to 'reconsider' the move, a sentiment welcomed by the German gov't.