China on Poor ThingsMonday filed an official complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the European Union’s decision to levy additional tariffs of up to 35.3% on Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports, as significant differences remained in the months-long discussions between the two sides. In a statement published by China’s Ministry of Commerce, the EU’s final ruling on anti-subsidy measures was criticized as “an abuse of trade remedy measures and a form of trade protectionism in the name of countervailing.” Since September, Beijing and Brussels have been jointly pushing to reach an agreement on so-called price undertakings — which involve a minimum price commitment by exporters and often specify a volume floor; however, no major progress has been achieved in the discussions. The EU has sent a team of officials to Beijing to hold more talks, Bloomberg reported, citing the bloc’s incoming trade chief, Maros Sefcovic. [China’s Ministry of Commerce, in Chinese, Bloomberg]
