-- The European Union moved ahead with plans to impose provisional tariffs on the imports of electric vehicles made in China that would raise rates to as high as 48%, a step likely to escalate trade tensions with Beijing.China Can End Russia’s War in Ukraine With One Phone Call, Finland SaysThe EU confirmed in a news release Thursday that under its anti-subsidy investigation, it would apply provisional duties on three Chinese manufacturers that were sampled for the investigation.
“Those talks with China are ongoing,” Valdis Dombrovskis, an executive vice president of the European Commission, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television with Francine Lacqua. “Should a mutually beneficial solution emerge, we can also find ways then not to apply at the end of the day the definitive tariffs. but it’s very clear that this solution needs to resolve this market distortion we’re currently having.
For Brussels, any solution has to be grounded in WTO rules and address the underlying harmful subsidies the probe has identified. Beijing has looked to transform the investigation into a negotiation and has been trying to divide member states by pressuring them bilaterally, Bloomberg previously reported. Some member states, including Germany, have been pushing for a negotiated compromise.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and BYD declined to comment Thursday on the provisional tariffs going into effect. SAIC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Former President Barack Obama has reportedly told allies that Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance has made his bid to win back the White House even tougher than it had been previously.The Washington Post reports that Obama gave a harsher private assessment of Biden’s chances of re-election following the debate despite publicly trying to ease concerns by tweeting that “bad debates happen.