Urso: on Chinese car duties we are open to a negotiated solution

The Italian government, with the Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, opens up to a 'negotiated solution' between the European Union and China on the application of import duties on electric cars. The minister (and this is doubly important, given that he is currently on an official mission in Beijing) is therefore toning down the more bellicose tones that in recent months seemed to place Italy firmly among the countries in favour of duties, in opposition to Germany, to be clear. Now the negotiating solution advocated by Germany, although it is the details that will make the difference between the two positions, also enters the Italian diplomatic vocabulary. 'Duties,' said Urso at the end of a meeting with the Italian business community in China, 'are sometimes the instrument to restore market conditions that have been violated. We are obviously for a free but fair market and so we hope that in this case a negotiated solution can be found that restores the conditions of market fairness in the face of the subsidies that, as the European Commission has verified, Chinese companies have enjoyed'. The thought was then reiterated in a later statement. "I too hope (referring to the German position, ed.) for a negotiated solution because duties are never the solution, but a means. The goal must be to restore market conditions within the rules of the World Trade Organisation. We remain absolutely in favour of a free but fair market'.

The thin thread of realpolitik emerges. Because, perhaps an unpredictable coincidence, Urso is in China to prepare the ground for Chinese investments in Italy, starting with the ambition of bringing a second car manufacturer to our country, just as the tariffs case is at its peak. After the exit from the Silk Road, the government - awaiting the mission of the premier Giorgia Meloni at the end of the month, and then the trip of the president of the Republic Sergio Mattarella after the summer - is playing an important slice of economic relations with the Asian giant. "This will be an important year in the sign of the history and cooperation that has taken place over the centuries between the two worlds," says Urso, "a year in which this strategic industrial partnership will develop, which I think can also be useful for Europe. For a collaboration, as far as we are concerned, especially on green technology, electric mobility, sustainability. To arrive at making Italy a production platform that highlights this new win-win cooperation'.

The programme of the two-day mission included a meeting with the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Jin Zhuanglong, as well as meetings with various companies. Urso met with the president of CCIG (China City industrial group, a bus manufacturer), Gu Gifeng, and the president of Chery Automobile, Yin Tongyue. On Friday 5 July, meetings are scheduled with Dongfeng, Jac (electric car manufacturers such as Chery), Weichai (engines), Mingyang (renewable energy). The mission is seen as a reconnaissance to prepare the ground for Premier Giorgia Meloni's visit at the end of July, when investment agreements could be finalised. Discussions are at an advanced stage with the CCIG group, which is a candidate to invest with Seri and Invitalia in the Industria Italiana Autobus plant in Flumeri. Renewables, and in particular a possible settlement to produce wind turbines, are instead at the centre of the meeting with Mingyang. And pharmaceuticals and high-end products are the subject of further scouting for potential investors. The highest attentions are obviously reserved for the possible arrival of an electric car manufacturer, which could feed the entire Italian supply chain, and it is no coincidence that Roberto Vavassori, president of Anfia, the association of automotive component manufacturers, is also taking part in the mission. The Ministry of Enterprise believes it has good cards to close an agreement, insisting on the 'opportunities offered by Italy as a production hub in Europe and the Mediterranean', an ideal platform for a Chinese manufacturer also to dribble away the problem of duties at the root.

The government's decision not to renew the agreement with China on the Silk Road when it expires at the end of 2023 was accompanied by subtle diplomatic action to avoid breaking the balance of trade and keep investment flows alive. Last October, an initial mission of Mimit technicians took place to initiate dialogues with green technology and automotive companies, and to meet the director general of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, restarting the joint working group on investments that then met in Verona in April. In the same month, the ministry organised a second technical mission, with an even more specific focus on automotive. In the meantime, Urso continued his contacts with the Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing municipality, Yn Li, and with the Chinese ambassador to Italy, Jia Guide, while at the ministry he met with CCIG, Chery and Dongfeng Motor, another candidate to produce cars in Italy, which also carried out inspections at sites in southern Italy.