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Exclusive | China trade officials visit Brussels seeking deal to nix European Union’s EV tariffs
Meetings meant to pave way for ministerial-level discussions next week when China’s commerce minister and EU trade chief sit down
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Finbarr Berminghamin Brussels
A delegation of senior Chinese trade officials is visiting Brussels this week, as Beijing scrambles for a deal to nix coming punitive tariffs on the country’s electric vehicles.
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The group met with senior European Union counterparts on Monday, according to several sources, and was led by vice-commerce minister Li Fei, one source said.
On the EU side, Sabine Weyand, the bloc’s director general for trade, led the talks before briefing members of the European Parliament’s trade committee on the ongoing tensions with China.
The meetings are designed to pave the way for ministerial-level discussions next week when Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will be in Brussels to meet with the EU’s trade commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis.
The diplomatic flurry comes ahead of a crunch vote later this month, when member states will decide whether to impose additional tariffs of up to 36.3 per cent on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Fifteen of the bloc’s 27 member governments would have to vote against the duties – decided upon after a European Commission anti-subsidy investigation – otherwise they would be set in place for five years.
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