The European Union said on Wednesday that Chinese manufacturers would face tariffs of up to 38 percent on electric vehicles imported into the bloc, in what EU leaders called an effort to protect the region’s manufacturers from unfair competition.
The bloc will impose provisional duties ranging from 17.4 percent to 38.1 percent for three major Chinese manufacturers, including BYD, Geely and SAIC. Other Chinese automakers face a tariff of 21 percent or 38.1 percent, depending on their cooperation with the European Union in its investigation into the matter.
The move to raise tariffs has been criticized by several European automakers who fear it will raise prices, scare customers and lead to costly retaliation from China.
The European Union defended the action, saying in a statement that an investigation had found that the electric vehicle supply chain in China “largely benefits from unfair subsidies in China and that therefore the influx of subsidized Chinese imports at artificially low prices presents a threat.” of clearly foreseeable and imminent harm to the EU industry.”
The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, opened an investigation last fall to determine whether the Chinese government was effectively subsidizing its production of electric cars and shipping them to Europe at prices that undercut European competitors.
The auto sector provides nearly 13 million jobs across the 27-nation bloc, the world’s second-largest market for electric vehicles after China. China’s electric car imports last year reached $11.5 billion, up from $1.6 billion in 2020, and generated a trade surplus of more than 100 billion euros, or $107 billion.
About 37 percent of all electric vehicles imported to Europe come from China, including cars made by Tesla, BMW and Renault-owned Dacia. Chinese brands account for 19 percent of the European electric vehicle market. Their number has been growing steadily, according to a study by the Rhodium Group.
However, the commission focused on three major Chinese electric car manufacturers (BYD, Geely and SAIC), all of which agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
