Germany Hopes to Head Off a Trade War With China

With billions of dollars in trade between China and the European Union at stake, Germany’s second-highest cabinet official called on Saturday for the two sides to engage in talks to try to resolve an escalating dispute over tariffs.

Robert Habeck, who is Germany’s vice chancellor and minister for economic affairs and climate, said that he expected talks to begin soon between China and European officials. He expressed a hope that tariffs could be avoided.

Still, he added that tariffs could be justified if the commission’s concerns about China’s subsidies for its electric car industry were not resolved.

This month, the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, proposed tariffs of up to 38 percent on electric cars from China, on top of an existing 10 percent tariff on imported cars. The commission said it found that China’s electric car sector was heavily subsidized by the government and state-controlled banking system.

“These tariffs are not punitive,” Mr. Habeck said, adding that the tariffs are intended to offset subsidies that violate World Trade Organization rules.

There is little doubt that the tariffs put Germany in a tricky position. China’s exports of electric vehicles pose a growing challenge to Europe’s automakers, including Germany’s. But German automakers have extensive operations in China and worry that they will be hurt by retaliatory trade actions by Beijing.