The boss of Volkswagen has backed EU proposals to boost its domestic industry, arguing European carmakers need to be able to “compete under comparable conditions” with Chinese rivals. Oliver Blume said “Made in Europe” rules from the EU “must reward real value creation in Europe”, speaking in Paris before the motor show this week. The rules are aimed at countering the rapid rise of Chinese brands in Europe in the automotive sector and other important manufacturing industries. Lower-priced Chinese manufacturers have prompted a crisis in several industries. Volkswagen is among…
Tag: European Union
China agrees to ‘halve’ hybrid car exports to EU in landmark deal
The EU said it has reached a landmark deal with China to “halve” its sales of hybrid cars in the bloc amid fears surging sales could kill off parts of the European car industry. Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the deal was the first of its kind and the result of “intense” negotiations with China since June to curb a trade deficit of €1.18bn (£1bn) a day, which has caused mounting tensions between the two economic powers. The deal “opens the prospect of cutting China’s export [of hybrids] by more…
EU ‘pulling out all stops’ with minerals projects as it tries to avert China trade war
The EU is “pulling out all the stops” to fend off an imminent potential trade crisis with China, the industry commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, has said, as the bloc announced its backing for a string of critical materials projects. Séjourné said on Friday that the EU would support 46 new strategic projects to accelerate supplies of critical raw materials by 2030 across the bloc. “We could face a crisis in the coming months,” he said. “We may face trade tensions that could also trigger a crisis in a number of sectors.…
China’s ‘Self-Reliance’ Drive Is Upending Trade With Europe
To understand Europe’s growing alarm over its trade deficit with China, consider a striking statistic: China now sends six containers of goods to Europe for every one it gets back. That ratio has more than doubled in China’s favor over the last five years as Beijing’s drive for greater economic self-reliance has expanded the range of goods China produces at home instead of buying from abroad. Jens Eskelund, president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, cited those figures last month and provided a simple explanation for why. “China…
EU negotiators head to China hoping to curb cheap imports of hybrid electric cars
Mood in trade talks said to have changed as EU member states harden demands for protection against Chinese imports EU trade negotiators are heading to China for two days of crunch talks aimed at sealing a breakthrough deal tackling Beijing’s record £1bn-a-day trade surplus by curbing its exports of cheap hybrid electric cars into Europe. Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and his team fly out on Wednesday and will be negotiating up to the wire in talks scheduled to start the following day and continue late into Friday. Continue reading… The…
The Hidden Policies That Power China’s Export Boom
China has kept its export engine roaring with a combination of tax rebates and a weak currency, helping sustain economic growth at home while sending a surge of Chinese goods into markets abroad. But that strategy is fueling tension with its trading partners. And this week, officials from Brussels arriving in Beijing are preparing to press Chinese officials about a European trade deficit with China that exceeds $1.1 billion a day. Europe’s leaders say China tilts the scale with government subsidies and low-interest loans to its manufacturers, flooding European markets…
UK considering tariffs on Chinese car imports to align with EU
The UK is considering whether to impose tariffs on Chinese car imports to align itself with the EU and strengthen its case to be included in new legislation designed to protect the European manufacturing sectors including autos and chemicals. It is understood the EU has raised the question of tariffs with the UK as part of the discussions on the upcoming “Made in Europe” legislation, known as the Industrial Accelerator Act. The UK is an outlier in choosing not to put import taxes on Chinese vehicles, even as the US…
UK car industry faces ‘difficult trade-off’ between Chinese and EU markets
Britain’s car industry is grappling with a “difficult trade-off” between China and Europe, as manufacturers struggle to balance the benefits of both markets ahead of looming trade measures that could restrict UK exports to the EU. The UK is an outlier in choosing not to put import taxes on Chinese vehicles, even as the US has shut them out almost entirely, and the EU imposes duties of up to 45%. EU officials reportedly warned Andy Burnham last month that the UK must put tariffs on cheap Chinese vehicles otherwise Brussels…
France says EU’s ‘Made in Europe’ law should not include the UK
France is leading a push to exclude the UK from the EU’s “Made in Europe” policy that could result in British companies losing out in the race to supply European countries with low-carbon technologies and electric cars. The plans were raised by Andy Burnham when he met the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on the sidelines of the UN general assembly earlier this week. The policy, still under negotiation, aims to protect European companies from intense and “unfair” state-subsidised competition from China. But the government fears British companies…
Alarm bells sound in Brussels as EU sales of Chinese hybrid cars rocket
Sales of Chinese hybrid cars have rocketed in the EU in the past four and a half years, new data shows, underlining growing concerns in Brussels over the future of the European car industry. In 2022, just 659 Chinese-made fully hybrid cars (vehicles in which the petrol or diesel engine charge the motor and battery) were sold in the EU. However, after Brussels imposed anti-subsidy tariffs on fully electric cars from China in 2024, sales of hybrids have shot up to 160,662 in the first seven months of this year.…