EU and China fail to deliver breakthrough on electric cars dispute, but talks will intensify

A high-profile attempt between the European Commission and the Chinese government to solve the ongoing dispute around battery electric vehicles (BEVs) failed to deliver a breakthrough, as differences remain entrenched.

Hope, however, is not yet lost as both parties vowed to intensify negotiations.

"Both sides agreed to intensify efforts to find an effective, enforceable and WTO-compatible solution to the BEV case (...) without prejudice to the EU investigation and its deadlines," Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commission's executive vice president in charge of trade, said after a "constructive" meeting with Wang Wentao, China's minister of commerce, on Thursday.

Brussels has accused Beijing of lavishing its BEVs with subsidies to artificially lower their retail price and push European competitors out of the lucrative market. Following a months-long investigation, the Commission found public money spread across the entire supply chain, creating a risk of unsustainable economic losses for the EU industry.

The executive then proposed a raft of additional import tariffs that will apply to BEVs made in China, including those assembled by Western firms in the country. The proposed duties, ranging from 7.8% to 35.3%, according to the brand and their level of cooperation with the investigation, will come on top of the existing 10% rate.

The top-up is supposed to ensure fairer competition and close the price gap between EU and Chinese manufacturers.

Member states need to ratify the tariffs in a vote that should happen sometime before November. If they do so, the rates will become permanent for five years.

From the onset, Beijing has adopted an antagonising position in public, calling the Commission's inquiry a "naked protectionist act" that