Germany Calls for Calm as BMW's Electric Mini Faces EU Tariff

Germany’s government steps into the growing trade tensions between the European Union and China as BMW’s Chinese-made battery-electric Mini could face the most punitive tariffs when imported into EU markets.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is calling for an “amicable” solution to the proposed tariffs that could see the Mini BEV slapped with a 38.1% rate on top of the standard 10% charge when brought into Europe.

Reuters reports the government’s transport minister warns the tariffs could prove catastrophic, particularly for German automakers who are particularly exposed to any rift with China as they have several key production facilities in the world’s second biggest economic bloc.

BMW produces the electric Mini in a joint venture with China’s Great Wall Motor aimed at a €35,000 ($37,000) price tag before import tariffs are applied.

In an interview quoted by German newspaper Tagesspiegel, Transport Minister Volker Wissing says: “Nobody wants a trade war with China. It would be a catastrophe for Germany and it would not be beneficial for the European Union either.”