FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The CEO of German carmaker Volkswagen (ETR:) said the European Union should consider adjusting planned tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles to take into account investments made in Europe.
“Instead of punitive tariffs, this should be about mutual giving of credit for investments. Those who invest, create jobs and work with local businesses should benefit when it comes to tariffs,” VW CEO Oliver Blume said in an interview with the Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
The European Union will continue to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, the EU executive said on Friday, even after the bloc’s biggest economy, Germany, and German carmakers rejected them, sparking a rift over the biggest trade row with Beijing came to light in ten years.
The proposed tariffs on Chinese-built EVs of up to 45% would cost carmakers billions of extra dollars to bring cars into the bloc and will be imposed for five years from next month.
The Commission, which oversees the bloc’s trade policy, has said it will clamp down on what it sees as unfair Chinese subsidies after a year-long anti-subsidy investigation, but also said on Friday it would continue talks with Beijing.
VW’s Blume told Bild am Sonntag that there was a risk that retaliatory tariffs by China would hurt European carmakers.
