EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles are part of an 'economic cold war,' Hungary's Orbán says
Hungary's prime minister says the European Union risks entering an “economic cold war” with China, and is pledging to vote against an EU plan to impose higher tariffs on the import of Chinese electric vehicles
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The European Union risks entering an “economic cold war” with China, Hungary's prime minister said on Friday, pledging to vote against an EU plan to impose higher tariffs on the import of Chinese electric vehicles.
EU countries are set to vote on Friday whether to finalize the tariffs, part of a broader trade dispute over Chinese government subsidies and Beijing’s burgeoning exports of green technology to the 27-nation bloc.
The tariffs are expected to pass the vote. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday that his country will oppose them, and warned that Europe's tendency toward economic protectionism would destroy the EU's economy.
“What they're making us do, what the European Union is doing, is an economic cold war,” Orbán told state radio. “This is the worst thing that can happen to Europe. ... If this continues, the European economy will die,” he said.
