No U-Turn on Chinese car tariffs, Spain’s finance minister says

Spain never U-turned on the issue of imposing car tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, its finance minister has told Euronews, despite last-minute calls from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for the bloc to reconsider its approach.   

In a wide-ranging interview with Euronews’ Europe Conversation, Carlos Cuerpo also touched on the economic and political impact of “devastating” floods in Valencia, and how the EU should respond to Donald Trump’s re-election as US President.   

“There was no U-turn”

Spain was among 17 EU countries who abstained or voted against slapping tariffs of up to 45% on Chinese products, as retaliation could impact its lucrative pork exports. The measure passed nonetheless, with support form France, Italy and the Netherlands. 

Madrid had supported the Commission’s probe into whether Chinese subsidies were distorting the level playing field, Cuerpo said.  

But, he added, “We need to exhaust all negotiating avenues or talks so that we find these these joint solutions.”  

“The worst case scenario is a tit-for-tat scenario where there is an element of escalating protectionist measures that would be to the detriment of everyone,” he said.   

“The argument is valid, no matter where the tariffs come,” Cuerpo added, when asked about Trump’s pledge to impose 10% import duties across the board.   

“We will, of course, engage with the new US administration along those lines, trying to be constructive and trying to deepen already a very close transatlantic relationship,” he said.  

Click the player above to watch the full interview – which also touches on the economic and political fallout from devastating floods in Valencia.