In October last year, the EU launched a countervailing investigation on Chinese electric vehicles, and is currently conducting a sample survey on Chinese enterprises. The EU will decide whether to impose additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles according to the investigation results.

German Chancellor Schultz clearly objected to this. He said during his visit to Sweden on the 14th that he did not want to prejudge the decision of the European Commission. However, he pointed out that the imposition of tariffs on Chinese products was also a punishment for itself. At present, nearly half of European brand trams are produced and sold in China.

Deke Jandulla, President of the German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Service Industry Association, warned in an interview with the media on the 15th that if Europe followed the example of the United States in imposing tariffs on Chinese products, consumers and enterprises would face higher costs. For example, the German auto industry now relies on parts and electric vehicles imported from China.

According to Der Spiegel on the 15th, Oliver Zipzer, the chairman of BMW Group, warned that the spiral rise of protectionism might lead to new tariffs. He stressed the importance of electric vehicles as a driving form of rapid growth and more ecologically sustainable. He believes that the imposition of punitive tariffs may jeopardize this growth.

According to Augsburg Report on the 15th, German Minister of Digitalization and Transport Weixin warned the EU not to follow the example of the United States. He told the editorial department of the newspaper that it was wrong to provoke trade disputes through punitive tariffs. "Our market should not be blocked, but should be strengthened through competition." He said that Germany and Europe must have open markets and "hope that international trade has fair and unified competition rules".