Habeck said there is time for a dialogue between the EU and China on tariff issues before the duties come into full effect in November and that he believes in open markets but that markets require a level playing field.
Proven subsidies that are intended to increase the export advantages of companies can’t be accepted, the minister said.
Another point of tension between Beijing and Berlin is China’s support for Russia in its war in Ukraine. Habeck noted Chinese trade with Russia increased more than 40% last year.
Habeck said he had told Chinese officials that this was taking a toll on their economic relationship. “Circumventions of the sanctions imposed on Russia are not acceptable,” he said, adding that technical goods produced in Europe should not end up on the battlefield via other countries.
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The EU’s provisional duties of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese EVs are set to apply by July 4, with the investigation set to continue until Nov 2, when definitive duties, typically for five years, could be imposed.
“This opens a phase where negotiations are possible, discussions are important and dialogue is needed,” Habeck said.
Proposed EU tariffs on Chinese goods are not a “punishment”, Habeck told Chinese officials earlier in Beijing. “It is important to understand that these are not punitive tariffs,” he said in the first plenary session of a climate and transformation dialogue.
Countries such as the US, Brazil and Turkey had used punitive tariffs, but not the EU, he said. “Europe does things differently.”
