The European Commission plans to apply additional duties on imported electric vehicles made in China. In September it cut the proposed final tariffs on Tesla and slightly trimmed rates for others after taking into account submissions by the companies in its anti-subsidy investigation.

The European Union and China have until the end of October to negotiate a definitive framework that will be put in place for five years from November. The 27 countries will vote on the European Commission's recommendations received last Friday, which showed a slight reduction in tariff rates and also the inclusion of a clause to continue talks.

October 4 is a date that cannot come soon enough for European Union bureaucrats, but one the Chinese government desperately wants to avert. This coming Friday, the EU's 27 member states are slated to hold a crucial vote on whether to sign punitive tariffs of up to 35.