EU definitively imposes duties on Chinese electric cars

The European Commission has decided to definitively impose additional duties of up to 35.3 per cent on imports of Chinese electric cars in response to unfair maxi-subsidies from Beijing. This is stated in the implementing regulation released by the EU today. The decision, as expected, will be published tomorrow in the Official Journal of the EU and the duties will come into force on 31 October. However, Brussels reserves the right to find a compromise with Beijing in the coming weeks.

The tariffs set by Brussels are 17% for the Byd group, 18.8% for Geely and 35.3% for Saic. Tesla, on the other hand, will be subject to a 7.8% duty after an individual assessment. For the other companies that cooperated in the EU investigation, the additional duty will be 20.7%, while for those who did not cooperate, the maximum surcharge will be 35.3%. Altogether, adding the duties already in place by 10%, the tariffs will reach 45%. However, the adoption of the trade measures does not put an end to the dispute. Contacts between Brussels and Beijing will continue in order to explore a negotiated solution within the World Trade Organisation, also in response to requests for mediation from some member states, such as Germany, which is against the duties, and Spain, which abstained in the vote of the Twenty-Seven in early October. The anti-dumping agreement - which the EU can also seek with individual Chinese carmakers - looks to comply with WTO rules, which require exporters to raise the prices of goods. According to an EU spokesman, the deal would allow for a withdrawal of the newly announced duties. In case there is white smoke, the Commission will have to take a new decision to revise the regulation.