英国大臣称愿讨论对华电动车关税，但尚未承诺、以英国利益为条件

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds signaled he’s open to hitting Chinese electric vehicles with tariffs to win enhanced access to European markets, but would make the call based on UK needs not demands from the EU.

The British government is under political pressure to align with Brussels on imposing tariffs on subsidized car imports from China in exchange for access to the EU-wide procurement model, Made in Europe. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has repeatedly demanded access to the program and making progress on a deal in that area is his key British priority ahead of the UK-EU summit next month.

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At a session on Tuesday of Parliament’s cross-party business committee, Reynolds was asked whether shared trade defense against Chinese subsidization would be explored in the upcoming Brussels summit, on 20 November.

“I’m certainly willing to talk and have been talking to European colleagues about a shared set of problems and how we resolve those,” he said.

Asked directly whether the UK had been asked to implement tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles as a condition for trusted partner status under the Made in Europe policy, Reynolds said he was keeping the UK’s position under close review.

“I want to work with European partners because we’re facing the same pressures,” he said. “If we do make a decision on any element of trade defense, it is because I deem that to be in the interests of the UK.”

France and Germany on Friday sealed a deal to offer relief to European car manufacturers grappling with Chinese competition. They also opened the door to Britain qualifying for the Made in Europe program if it also agrees to protect its industry from China with tariffs. But the British government is yet to make any commitment.

Reynolds argued there was not enough detail about the Franco-German agreement to be able to establish definitively what is being asked of the UK.

“We’ve got to work with like-minded countries on a similar set of problems, but I’m also pointing out that perhaps the interests of the EU as a whole for their automotive sector might at times be slightly different to how we see it in the UK,” he said.

The business secretary added that making progress on accessing Made in Europe was a “very significant priority” for every UK government department because failing to achieve that would impact multiple policy areas.

Reynolds’ comments came after UK Trade Minister Anas Sarwar said Britain and the European Union must “work together and act in lockstep” to tackle China’s dominance in the car sector. Responding, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce threatened to take “resolute” countermeasures to safeguard the its electric vehicle companies if the UK imposes restrictive measures.