TMTPost -- Hungarian National Economy Minister Márton Nagy repeats Budapest’s opposition of the European Union’s sharply higher tariffs on electric vehicle (EV) exports from China.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

Given the diverse strategies across Europe, the EU should implement the bloc-wide package of measures to boost EV production and demand, rather than tariffs on Chinese EV, Nagy, who chaired a meeting of industry ministers of member states, told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday. “We are very against these tariffs,” Nagy said. “We don’t believe in [them]. Protectionism is not a solution. We need more competition.”  

Nagy said Hungary has put forward an 11-point package of proposals aimed at speeding up the transition to electric vehicles to the European Union’s Competitiveness Council. Under the package, Hungary proposed the development of charger infrastructure, easing of regulatory burdens in the interest of improving competitiveness, and prioritizing technology-neutral procedures and the circular economy in the green transition. In terms of the charger infrastructure, Nagy said facilities should be built at every 50 kilometres next to roads, while 80 percent of petrol stations should be similarly equipped. He urged the EU to launch a programme to support development of the public system and provide grants between 900 and 1,500 euros to each household installing their own charger. The package also aims to promote technology-independent procedures for the replacement of batteries and mandatory recycling of batteries, according to Nagy.

Nagy’s remarks came days after Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During their meeting in Beijing on Monday, Xi told Orbán China-EU relations are of strategic significance and global influence and should maintain steady and sound development, calling on the two sides to jointly respond to global challenges.Xi congratulated Hungary on assuming the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) and said there is no geopolitical contradiction or fundamental conflict of interests between China and the EU. It is hoped that Hungary, as the holder of the rotating EU presidency, will play a positive role in promoting the sound and stable development of China-EU relations and facilitating constructive interactions, Xi added.

Orbán said Hungary is willing to take the rotating EU presidency as an opportunity to actively promote the sound development of EU-China relations. Hungary highly appreciates and values China's role and influence and is willing to maintain close strategic communication and coordination with China, Orbán said. He added Hungary advocates strengthening cooperation with China and opposes forming exclusionary cliques and bloc confrontation.

The European Commission announced last Thursday it imposed provisional countervailing duties of up to 37.6% from Friday, on top of the ordinary BEV import duty of 10%, on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China. The executive arm of the EU concluded through an anti-subsidy investigation that the BEV value chain in China benefits from unfair subsidization, which is causing a threat of economic injury to EU BEV producers.

Hungary has immediately expressed its stance of opposition in wake of the EU’s plan to impose tariffs. Hungary disagrees with EU’s “brutal” punishment of Chinese EV makers, its economy ministry said in a statement, hours after the European Commission announced on June 12 that it has pre-disclosed the level of provisional countervailing duties it would impose. The ministry called for support of the European EV industry, instead of punitive tariffs. It added that protectionism is not the solution.