Agreeing to accept China’s invitation suggests that negotiations are gaining momentumsaid Bloomberg sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
However, they warned that the conclusion agreement on replacing the customs duties that have been in force since Wednesday is not easy. The plans are still being finalized and need to be coordinated with Beijing, sources told Bloomberg.
Eight rounds of talks and there is no control mechanism
Both Beijing and Brussels have been examining whether this can be achieved agreement on the so-called price obligations, i.e. a complex mechanism of price and export volume controlwhich would avoid customs duties. Unfortunately, no agreement was reached because the positions of both sides were too divergent.
Eight rounds of talks have so far failed to produce a breakthrough. The proposals presented have not yet met the strict EU requirements, including alignment with the rules of the World Trade Organization. The community of European states also wants to have the right to monitor the arrangements for compliance and feasibility.
Nevertheless, talks have made some progress in recent days. Negotiators were examining whether the terms of the commitments could be simplified, sources told Bloomberg.
Separate contracts
Beijing wants to all producers were covered by an umbrella agreement, as part of talks by China’s trade body. In accordance with EU regulations, this trade group submitted a price proposal on behalf of 12 exporters, including SAIC Motor, BMW Brilliance Automotive and Zhejiang Geely Automobile.
Meanwhile, the EU stated that individual agreements are possible under World Trade Organization rules. The community of European countries was considering individual pricing agreements with some car manufacturers, including two from the Geely group.
China threatens retaliation
China has threatened to freeze investment in member states that supported the tariffs and retaliate with its own penalties on European goods, including dairy products, pork and brandy, as well as cars with large engines.
