German Chamber in China Says EU Tariffs Won’t Protect Automakers

(Bloomberg) — The German business chamber said the European Union should invest to become more competitive instead of hiking tariffs on China-made electric vehicles (EVs), adding to Berlin’s efforts to avert or soften the trade curbs.

The call comes as Brussels decided to impose additional tariffs on EVs shipped from China, taking levies to as much as 48%. This affects Chinese carmakers including BYD Co. Ltd., Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and SAIC Motor Corp., who were accused of distorting the market through state subsidies.