The EU announced on Wednesday that it would apply additional tariffs of up to 38.1 percent on imported Chinese electric vehicles from next month. Amid ongoing investigations, the European Commission concluded that Chinese battery electric vehicles (BEVs) benefit from unfair subsidization which impacts EU BEV producers.
Consequently, the Commission has reached out to Chinese authorities to discuss these findings and explore possible ways to resolve the issues in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) provisions.
EU tarrif breakdown
The EU will start applying provisional tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles by July 4, with the anti-subsidy investigation set to continue until November 2, when definitive duties, typically for five years, could apply.
The EU revealed in a statement that the Commission would apply the following tariffs to the three Chinese producers:
- BYD: 17.4 percent
- Geely: 20 percent
- SAIC: 38.1 percent
In addition, other BEV producers in China, which cooperated in the investigation, would be subject to a 21 percent duty. Meanwhile, all other BEV producers in China which did not cooperate in the investigation would be subject to a 38.1 percent residual duty.
The EU will add the new tariffs to the existing tariff of 10 percent. Western producers such as Tesla that export cars from China to Europe were considered cooperating companies, and may receive an individually calculated duty rate at the definitive stage.
Read: EU trade in goods surges to $55.5 billion in Q1 2024
The commission added that any other company producing in China not selected in the final sample that wishes to have its particular situation investigated can ask for an accelerated review, in line with the basic anti-subsidy regulation, just after imposition of definitive measures, meaning 13 months after initiation.
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