(Nov 8): The European Union (EU) and China said they made some progress after a week of technical talks in Beijing aimed at scaling back or reversing tariffs that the bloc applied to electric vehicles (EVs) made in China.

The EU’s executive arm described the outcome of this week’s negotiations as making “technical progress,” and China’s Ministry of Commerce echoed that conclusion in a separate statement. Both Brussels and Beijing have previously warned that significant gaps remain over how to address what the bloc says are unfair subsidies to Chinese-made EVs.

The EU and China have been seeking an agreement on so-called price undertakings — a complex mechanism to control prices and volumes of exports, used to avoid tariffs.

On Friday, the EU reiterated that individual agreements between carmakers and the EU are possible under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. But Beijing wants to conclude an umbrella agreement, making that one of the obstacles in the talks.

China’s invitation to negotiate in person was seen a sign of some momentum in the talks, according to people familiar with the matter.

Several rounds of talks didn’t yield a solution that meet the EU’s strict requirements, including alignment with WTO rules and compensating for the full effect of the duties. The 27-nation bloc also wants to ensure it can monitor compliance.

Negotiations will continue at a technical level next week, both sides said.

Uploaded by Felyx Teoh