Overview
- Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider publicly called Saturday for compensatory tariffs on Chinese plug-in hybrid vehicles that match duties already applied to fully electric cars.
- Schneider said the current gap in trade treatment is unfair because pure battery-electric imports already face duties while plug-in hybrids from China do not.
- He cited a 'massive undervaluation' of the Chinese currency and a strong know-how advantage among Chinese battery makers as reasons to seek equal tariffs.
- Schneider framed the demand as part of a wider industrial strategy to keep or rebuild German vehicle and battery manufacturing and to push foreign firms toward joint ventures that locate production in Europe.
- The proposal is a ministerial statement not a finalized policy and would need action by Germany’s government and EU trade authorities, with possible effects on prices, supply chains, and investment plans in the car industry.