BYD will be subject to an additional tariff of 17.4 percent, Geely 20 percent and SAIC 38.1 percent. Other BEV producers that cooperated in the EU investigation but were not sampled will pay a weighted average duty of 21 percent.
The European Union will impose additional tariffs on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) from China starting next month, varying by carmaker and reaching a maximum of 38.1 percent.
As part of an ongoing investigation, the European Commission has preliminarily concluded that China's battery electric vehicle (BEV) value chain benefits from unfair subsidisation, which is causing a threat of economic injury to EU BEV producers, according to a statement today.
The European Commission has reached out to Chinese authorities to discuss these findings and explore possible ways to address the issues identified in a WTO-compliant manner, the statement said.
In this context, the European Commission has pre-disclosed the level of provisional countervailing duties it would impose on imports of BEV imports from China.
If discussions with the Chinese authorities do not lead to an effective solution, these provisional countervailing duties would be introduced from 4 July by a guarantee, according to the statement.
The form of these additional duties will be determined by each member state's customs and they will only be levied when final duties are imposed.
The European Commission will impose the following tariffs on each of the three sampled Chinese producers:
BYD: 17.4 percent.
Geely: 20 percent.
SAIC: 38.1 percent.
Other Chinese BEV producers that cooperated in the investigation but have not been sampled will pay a weighted average duty of 21 percent.
All other BEV producers in China which did not cooperate in the investigation would be subject to 38.1 percent residual duty.
The European Commission formally initiated an anti-subsidy investigation on October 4, 2023, into imports of EVs originating in China.
Any investigation shall be concluded within a maximum of 13 months of its initiation, and the European Commission may publish provisional countervailing duties within nine months of its initiation, i.e. by July 4 at the latest.
Final measures should be implemented within four months of the imposition of the provisional duties, according to the statement from the European Commission today.
China has already voiced its opposition to the additional tariffs.
Earlier today, the Financial Times first reported on the additional tariffs, stating that the European Commission would temporarily impose additional tariffs of up to 25 percent on imports of Chinese EVs starting next month.
The EU's investigation is typical of protectionism, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at today's regular press conference, adding that China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
After the release of the EU's statement, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said China is highly concerned and strongly dissatisfied with it, and Chinese industry is deeply disappointed and firmly opposed to it.
China urges the EU to immediately correct its wrong practices and properly handle economic and trade frictions through dialog and consultation, the spokesman said.
China will pay close attention to the follow-up progress of the European side, and will resolutely take all necessary measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, according to the statement.
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