Trade representative advocates for Habeck to propose a resolution to the trade disagreement with China
Since last Friday, Habeck embarked on an East Asia tour and will be in China this weekend for a meeting with various cabinet members, as he stated. The EU is currently embroiled in a trade dispute with China, centered around potential tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. A temporary breathing space is still intact until early July, supposedly to facilitate dialogue. Post-July, these higher tariffs might be implemented.
It's vital to prevent the escalation of trade disputes and a stricter European stand-off, according to Treier. Habeck should strive for "calming the waters," as Treier added later. The tariffs could potentially impact German car manufacturers operating in China, and additional trade restrictions for the German economy due to China's declared countermeasures could be imminent, warned the head of foreign trade at the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
The Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Tanja Gönner, also issued a warning in the "Rheinische Post": "Negative impacts on global supply chains and European companies should be minimized."
The EU holds disparate views on tariffs, with the German government firmly against them due to the extensive involvement of the German automotive industry in China. Brussels granted the grace period for negotiations chiefly under Berlin's influence. Nevertheless, the EU Commission is spearheading the actual negotiations in this matter, as both Habeck and the EU Commission have consistently pointed out.
