The business secretary, Johnathon Reynolds, has warned that the UK will not change its trade rules because of pushes from the EU to hit Chinese vehicles with import taxes, despite political pressures to align with the EU in exchange for deeper future economic ties.
The EU imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024 and last Friday agreed a 350,000 a year quota on Chinese hybrid cars amid fears cheaper alternatives are causing deindustrialisation and job losses.
His comments highlight the division that remain between the UK and EU on trade and industrial policy, which could derail the prime minister’s attempts to move closer to Brussels. With the UK-EU summit approaching, some in Brussels have been pushing for Britain to levy tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in return for getting access to the European markets under the new trade. But Reynolds has previously dismissed this because of the risk that Beijing could hit the UK with reciprocal tariffs.