Mercedes, BMW Urge Germany to Vote Against China EV Tariffs
(Bloomberg) -- Mercedes-Benz Group AG and BMW AG are pressing Berlin to vote against imposing significantly higher European Union tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles as German carmakers push to avoid a spat with their most important market.
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“The EU should seek a negotiated solution with China instead of imposing tariffs,” Mercedes-Benz Chief Executive Officer Ola Källenius said in a statement Wednesday. A ‘no’ vote from the German government would be a signal of this and would help avoid a trade conflict, he added.
“Additional tariffs harm globally active companies in this country and could provoke a trade dispute from which no one gains,” BMW Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse said in an earlier statement Wednesday. “The German government should therefore take a clear position.”
EU member states are preparing to vote Friday on imposing definitive tariffs as high as 45% on imported EVs made in China. It would take a qualified majority — 15 member states representing 65% of the bloc’s population — to block the tariffs.
German officials signaled Tuesday that the government plans to abstain, rather than vote against it. It also expects a significant number of EU member states to join its abstention, according to people familiar with the government’s thinking, which could make it more difficult to block implementation of the tariffs.
More broadly, Germany has made clear it hopes for a negotiated solution in ongoing talks between the EU and China.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to discuss the tariffs in Berlin on Wednesday.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, proposed the levies after a probe found that China unfairly subsidizes its EV industry.
German car manufacturers have broadly rejected the tariffs, which they say could threaten sales in their biggest car market China if the country retaliates with counter-measures.
Källenius has led calls for open markets in the past months, with Volkswagen AG CEO Oliver Blume repeatedly voicing concerns about a potential trade spat with China.
(updates with Mercedes CEO comments.)
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