China has moved forward with a complaint at the World Trade Organization that alleges the European Union has improperly set anti-subsidy tariffs on new Chinese-made electric vehicles.
The Chinese diplomatic mission to the WTO said Monday it “strongly opposes” the measures and insisted its move was designed to protect the EV industry and support a global transition toward greener technologies.
Read Also: We’re Not Going Back On Forex, Subsidy Reforms – Finance Minister
The European bloc announced last month it was imposing import duties of up to 35% on electric vehicles from China, alleging the Chinese exports were unfairly undercutting EU industry prices. The duties are set to remain in force for five years, unless an amicable deal can be struck.
Electric vehicles have become a major flashpoint in a broader trade dispute over the influence of Chinese government subsidies on European markets and Beijing’s burgeoning exports of green technology to the bloc.
China alleged that the EU move amounted to “an abuse of trade remedies” that violates WTO rules, and amounted to “protectionist” measures, according to the mission’s statement.
Valdis Dombrovskis, the executive vice president of the EU’s Commission, last week called the steps “proportionate and targeted” and were aimed to underpin fair market practices and support the bloc’s industrial base.
In other news, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, says there is no going back on the current administration’s reforms in the forex and oil and gas sectors.
Edun made this known when he received the newly assigned Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka Anitez at the Ministry’s headquarters, on Monday.
“Nigeria now have a foreign exchange rate that is market based and also a deregulated oil market pricing which are two reforms that are long overdue over many decades that President Tinubu is currently implementing.
“Therefore as co-ordinating minister of economy, we stand on a threshold of a new dawn to implement these reforms and increase productivity, create jobs and reducing poverty and we are glad to have a minister of state that will help in actualizing the President’s reforms,” he said.
