MNI BRIEF: EU-China Electric Vehicle Talks Need 9 Months More

EU negotiations with China over electric vehicles are still at the question stage and will take another nine months to conclude, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton told the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Committee on Monday, adding that the bloc was also looking at overcapacity in Chinese solar panels and wind turbines.

Slowing growth in China means it is “sending everything over to Europe,” he said, adding that the EU was also talking to China about how to avoid interruptions to key supply chains as during the Covid pandemic when exports of facemasks were shut off. (See MNI: China Should Negotiate With EU Over Potential EV Tariffs)

“Some of these value chains stopped simply for protectionist reasons. They closed off their supply and that meant our factories couldn’t work. There should be some reciprocity that would make value chains more solid so we can make sure we work well no matter what happens," Breton said.