EU tariffs on China EVs, four-month talk window
Published: 04:07 PM,Jul 04,2024 | EDITED : 08:07 PM,Jul 04,2024
Cars to be exported sit at a terminal in the port of Yantai, Shandong province, China. — Reuters
BRUSSELS: The European Union will impose tariffs of up to 37.6 per cent from Friday on imports of electric vehicles made in China, EU officials said on Thursday, ratcheting up trade tension with Beijing.
There is however a four-month window during which the tariffs are only provisional and intensive talks are expected to continue between the two sides.
The European Commission's provisional duties of between 17.4 per cent and 37.6 per cent without backdating are designed to prevent what its president Ursula von der Leyen has said is a threatened flood of cheap EVs built state subsidies.
The rates are almost exactly the same as those announced by the Commission on June 12. The executive made slight adjustments after companies identified minor calculation errors in the initial disclosure.
Beijing said then it would take 'all necessary measures' to safeguard China's interests.
These could include retaliatory tariffs on exports to China of products such as cognac or pork.
The EU anti-subsidy investigation has nearly four more months to run.
At the end of it, the Commission, the EU's executive arm, could propose 'definite duties', typically applying for five years, on which EU members would vote.
China's commerce ministry said on Thursday both sides have so far held several rounds of technical talks over tariffs on the issue.
'There is still a four-month window before arbitration, and we hope that the European and Chinese sides will move in the same direction, show sincerity, and push forward with the consultation process as soon as possible,' He Yadong, a ministry spokesperson, said.
BYD will face duties of 17.4 per cent, Geely 19.9 per cent and SAIC 37.6 per cent, the EU said on Thursday. These are on top of the EU's standard 10 per cent duty on car imports.
Companies deemed by the EU to have cooperated with the anti-subsidy investigation, including western carmakers Tesla and BMW, will be subject to 20.8 per cent tariffs and those that did not cooperate a rate of 37.6 per cent. The Commission has estimated Chinese brands' share of the EU market has risen to 8 per cent from below 1 per cent in 2019 and could reach 15 per cent in 2025. It says prices are typically 20 per cent below those of EU-made models.
European policymakers are keen to avoid a repeat of what happened with solar panels a decade ago, when the EU took only limited action to curb Chinese imports and many European manufacturers collapsed. The EU launched its anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs last October.
The Chinese Passenger Car Association has said the tariffs will have only a modest impact on the majority of Chinese firms.
The rates are far lower than the 100 per cent tariff Washington plans to apply to Chinese EV imports from August. — Reuters
There is however a four-month window during which the tariffs are only provisional and intensive talks are expected to continue between the two sides.
The European Commission's provisional duties of between 17.4 per cent and 37.6 per cent without backdating are designed to prevent what its president Ursula von der Leyen has said is a threatened flood of cheap EVs built state subsidies.
The rates are almost exactly the same as those announced by the Commission on June 12. The executive made slight adjustments after companies identified minor calculation errors in the initial disclosure.
Beijing said then it would take 'all necessary measures' to safeguard China's interests.
These could include retaliatory tariffs on exports to China of products such as cognac or pork.
The EU anti-subsidy investigation has nearly four more months to run.
At the end of it, the Commission, the EU's executive arm, could propose 'definite duties', typically applying for five years, on which EU members would vote.
China's commerce ministry said on Thursday both sides have so far held several rounds of technical talks over tariffs on the issue.
'There is still a four-month window before arbitration, and we hope that the European and Chinese sides will move in the same direction, show sincerity, and push forward with the consultation process as soon as possible,' He Yadong, a ministry spokesperson, said.
BYD will face duties of 17.4 per cent, Geely 19.9 per cent and SAIC 37.6 per cent, the EU said on Thursday. These are on top of the EU's standard 10 per cent duty on car imports.
Companies deemed by the EU to have cooperated with the anti-subsidy investigation, including western carmakers Tesla and BMW, will be subject to 20.8 per cent tariffs and those that did not cooperate a rate of 37.6 per cent. The Commission has estimated Chinese brands' share of the EU market has risen to 8 per cent from below 1 per cent in 2019 and could reach 15 per cent in 2025. It says prices are typically 20 per cent below those of EU-made models.
European policymakers are keen to avoid a repeat of what happened with solar panels a decade ago, when the EU took only limited action to curb Chinese imports and many European manufacturers collapsed. The EU launched its anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs last October.
The Chinese Passenger Car Association has said the tariffs will have only a modest impact on the majority of Chinese firms.
The rates are far lower than the 100 per cent tariff Washington plans to apply to Chinese EV imports from August. — Reuters