Crypto News: Supply Lines: Trying to avert EV tariffs

With a vote on introducing tariffs on electric vehicles coming into Europe from China looming, Brussels and Beijing are locked in intensive talks to find an alternative solution to the levies.

The two sides are exploring whether an agreement can be reached on so-called price undertakings, a complex mechanism to control prices and volumes of exports used to avoid anti-subsidy tariffs.

Negotiations will continue even if European Union member states vote in the coming days to impose tariffs, Bloomberg reported.

The bloc is currently working to add a provision to the draft legislation to allow talks to keep going, which member states are now expected to then vote on by early next month.

The EU's executive arm has repeatedly said that any alternative to tariffs has to have strict requirements, including alignment with WTO rules, address the impact of China's subsidies, and be something the EU can monitor for compliance.

Germany and Spain are among the member states to have argued against tariffs, while others such as Italy and Denmark back the measures.

The vote would pave the way for duties as high as about 35% to kick in from November for five years unless a qualified majority — 15 member states representing 65% of the bloc's population — opposes the move. The new tariffs would be on top of the existing 10% rate.

China, who has dismissed the anti-subsidies probe as a protectionist measure, has tried to lure member states to its corner by offering both a carrot of increased investment into car plants — in countries like Spain and Hungary — and the stick of threatening tariffs on dairy, brandy, pork and other products, including cars with large engines.

—Alberto Nardelli from Brussels

Companies can mitigate risks and cut costs by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in their supply chains, according to HSBC. Businesses need "to consider climate risk and the associated financial and environmental benefits of addressing supply chain emissions solutions," said Marissa Adams, Americas' head of global trade solutions at HSBC. The comments were published in connection with a study put together by CDP in collaboration with HSBC, measuring the financial gains corporates stand to reap by cutting their emissions.

Mexico finalized plans to take control of a port and quarry owned by Alabama-based construction company Vulcan Materials on its Caribbean coast, deepening tensions days before the nation's president leaves office.
Joe Biden cast the climate crisis as a new economic opportunity for the US, saying his policies in office had developed "a new formula" to fight global warming while also creating jobs and bolstering domestic industries. Meanwhile, Donald Trump vowed to convince foreign firms to shift operations to the US using tax incentives and the threat of tariffs.
Canada is looking at banning Chinese-made software in vehicles after the US took steps toward doing so, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
Indonesia wants to conclude a free trade deal with the EU by the end of next month, covering around $30 billion of trade between the two sides, said Jerry Sambuaga, Indonesia's vice minister for trade.
Grain workers at Canada's biggest port went on strike over a dispute regarding hours and pay, setting up what an industry association called a "devastating" situation for farmers during the harvest season.
A labor union is calling on US authorities to investigate a JBS plant in Colorado over allegations of abuse and crimes against immigrant workers, just as the world's largest meat producer seeks to trade its shares in the US.

The European Court of Justice's decision to make Apple pay Ireland €13 billion in back taxes has raised questions about the country's position as a hub for foreign direct investment.
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Use the AHOY function to track global commodities trade flows.
See DSET CHOKE for a dataset to monitor shipping chokepoints.
For freight dashboards, see {BI RAIL}, {BI TRCK} and {BI SHIP} and {BI 3PLS}
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See BNEF for BloombergNEF's analysis of clean energy, advanced transport, digital industry, innovative materials, and commodities.

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