Controversy sparked over enforced tariffs targeting Chinese-made electric vehicles.
A get-together of the traffic light coalition's cabinet has allegedly caused a rift over levies on Chinese electric vehicles. As per a piece in the Bild newspaper's Friday edition, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had a disagreement during the meeting on Wednesday over how Germany should cast its vote on the EU's proposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Baerbock reportedly advocated for imposing the tariffs, asserting that the Chinese government needs to be reined in, and a stop sign is necessary. Conversely, Lindner argued from the perspective of German industrial workers' interests. He supposedly suggested to Baerbock that they could visit a workers' meeting at BMW, where she could witness the employees' appreciation for green politics firsthand.
The EU Commission has proposed to impose supplementary tariffs, ranging up to 35.3%, on electric vehicles imported from China. A vote amongst the 27 EU member states' representatives is planned for Friday. German automakers have implored the federal government to vote against the proposition, apprehensive about potential repercussions for their business model and retaliatory measures from Beijing if the surcharges are implemented as scheduled towards the end of the month.
The Commission has proposed supplementary tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, which has become a contentious issue within the German cabinet. During the get-together of the traffic light coalition's cabinet, Finance Minister Lindner and Foreign Minister Baerbock had differing views on how Germany should vote on this issue.
