The European Commission's decision to press ahead with tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles threatens to undermine decades of cooperation between China and the EU, and endangers climate-change goals,

The European Union unleashed one of its most powerful economic tools on China, imposing tariffs on electric vehicles in a move that increases the risk of retaliatory measures and backfiring on domestic consumers and companies.

European Union countries on Friday voted to impose duties on imports of electric vehicles from China, as talks continued between Brussels and Beijing to find an amicable solution to their trade dispute before an end-of-October deadline.