The German Chamber of Commerce in China has called on Beijing and Brussels to seek a resolution through negotiation on EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports, which it says offer no protection to German carmakers and foster tariff escalations that can only hurt the industry. “The industry also made quite clear statements that tariffs, as suggested now by the EU, will not increase the competitiveness of the automotive industry,” Maximilian Butek, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in East China, told the South China Morning Post. The comments come as Germany’s vice-chancellor and economics minister Robert Habeck will meet Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss trade issues on Thursday, and after Brussels announced the imposition of extra duties of up to 38.1% on Chinese EV imports last week. In the latest sign of worsening relations between China and Europe, the Chinese government on Monday announced it has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imported pork and its by-products from the European Union, with Spain, the Netherlands, and France among the major pork exporters to China. [South China Morning Post, Reuters]
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