By Stephen Wilmot

As tariffs spiral between the U.S. and China, they are showing early signs of falling between China and Europe, helping BYD and hurting Tesla.

The European Commission in Brussels, which handles trade on behalf of the European Union, on Friday confirmed that it is talking with Beijing about an alternative to its current tariffs on Chinese EVs.

In a conversation Tuesday, EC Vice President Maros Sefcovic and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao discussed the idea of so-called price undertakings, whereby manufacturers agree to minimum prices, a spokesman said.

In Hong Kong trading Friday, shares in Chinese carmakers BYD and Geely rose 7% and 6%, respectively, after Reuters reported the conversation. Price undertakings could help their profit margins.

The losers would be Western EV makers. Volkswagen led Europe's EV market last year with 21% market share, followed by Tesla with 16%.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced last week-a day after President Trump announced his so-called reciprocal tariffs-that the talks with Europe were restarting.

Last year, Brussels imposed additional tariffs of up to 35% on Chinese EVs following an investigation that it said found evidence of unfair subsidies in the country's supply chain. While the EU has long said price undertakings could be an alternative, Trump's tariffs have given the idea fresh momentum.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 11, 2025 11:03 ET (15:03 GMT)

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