Starting July 4, the European Union will introduce additional duties on imports of Chinese electric vehicles in the amount of up to 38.1%. This is stated in a statement by the European Commission , UNN reports.
Details
The introduction of the duties follows a months-long investigation into state aid to Chinese electric car manufacturers.
It creates the immediate prospect of a full-scale trade war between the EU and China after Beijing launched an investigation into European alcoholic beverage producers and threatened to retaliate against farmers and aircraft companies from the European Union.
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Thus, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) manufactured by BYD will face a 17.4% duty, Geely - 20%, and SAIC - 38.1%.
The Commission inspected all of these producers earlier this year, although they did not provide as much information as Brussels had hoped to receive.
Other producers who have not provided any information will also face the highest duty of 38.1%. Those who cooperated will pay 21%.
Addendum
As Euronews writes, Brussels is concerned that due to Beijing's generous subsidies, European companies will not be able to compete with Chinese manufacturers and will eventually be pushed out of this increasingly lucrative sector, as happened with solar panels.
According to a study by Transport and Environment (T&E), the share of Chinese brands in the EU BEV market grew from 0.4% in 2019 to 7.9% in 2023 and could exceed 20% by 2027 if the trend continues.
Context
The EU launched an investigation into Beijing's subsidies to Chinese companies in October 2023. Brussels said that it should be understood whether this aid could at some point in the future cause "damage" to EU industry, in other words, lead to unsustainable losses in sales, profits, and market share.
Recall
In May, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to increase tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods, including semiconductors, batteries, solar panels, and electric vehicles.