BRUSSELS — The European Commission has rejected proposals made by China to set minimum prices or volume caps on imports of electric vehicles into the EU, said Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the Commission on trade, on Thursday.
The decision deals a blow to Beijing’s desperate efforts to reach a negotiated solution with the EU to avoid imposing of hefty duties on made-in-China EVs after the bloc identified a sweeping subsidy program ranging from refining lithium to shipping the cars abroad.
Gill told a news conference that the Commission had reviewed the Chinese proposals — first reported by POLITICO — based on whether they “would eliminate the injurious effects of the subsidies identified in our investigation, and whether these price undertakings could be effectively monitored and enforced.”
“The Commission has concluded that none of the offers met these requirements,” Gill announced. The content of the offers is confidential.