China and EU strike deal to halve Chinese hybrid exports

Beijing – China and the European Union have reached a deal that could cut Chinese exports of hybrid cars to the bloc by more than half, European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Friday after talks in Beijing aimed at reducing the EU’s ballooning trade deficit with China. The “shared understanding” would “moderate” China’s export of hybrids and plug-in hybrids to the EU, and would cut the imports of several million cars over four years, Sefcovic said after the two-day talks, without offering details on how the agreement will be implemented. Shares of European carmakers, which have slid steadily over the past two years due to U.S. tariffs and soaring Chinese exports, broadly gained on the news.