Chinese automakers SAIC and Geely have “never” had private tariff negotiations with the European Commission over the prices of their China-made electric vehicles sold in the region, according to statements provided by the companies to Chinese media outlets on Thursday. The news comes after China’s Ministry of Commerce on Oct. 12 publicly criticized (in Chinese) the European Union for conducting separate price commitment negotiations with some companies, warning that this could “shake the foundations” of bilateral tariff negotiations. State-owned SAIC, a long-time partner of Volkswagen and General Motors, also announced that it was filing a lawsuit at the European Union’s Court of Justice after the additional EU tariffs ranging from 7.8% for Tesla to 35.3% for SAIC took effect on Wednesday, Reuters has reported. China stated it does not agree with or accept the ruling, saying it will continue the ongoing negotiations with its European counterpart to establish a price floor on Chinese EVs. The consultations started in mid-September after China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao and EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis held talks in Brussels.