BERLIN, July 3 (Reuters) - Germany's VDA auto

association urged the European Commission to drop its planned

tariffs on China-made electric vehicles on Wednesday, in a

last-ditch effort to influence negotiations ahead of the tariffs

kicking in on Thursday.

The association highlighted that the tariffs were hurting

European and U.S. carmakers exporting from China and that the

risk of retaliation by China with counter-tariffs would hit the

German industry hard given its high volume of export to China.

The value of passenger car exports from Germany to China

last year was over three times the value of imports from China,

and the value of exports by component suppliers was four times

as much as the value of imports, according to the VDA.

The Commission should instead focus on securing access to

critical raw materials - many of which are controlled by China -

for Europe's EV industry, reducing barriers to market access and

creating transparency on trade policy, the VDA said, proposing

the creation of a council to discuss such matters.

"Anti-subsidy tariffs are not an adequate measure to

strengthen European competitiveness and resilience in the long

term," it said.

China and the European Commission have been in negotiations

since last week over the curbs that Beijing wants scrapped,

rejecting accusations of unfair subsidies.

Brussels has made clear that it expected China to come to

technical talks taking place this week with a road map for

"addressing the injurious subsidisation" of its EV industry if

there were to be a negotiated outcome.