After the United States imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, the EU also took action.
On June 12, the European Commission disclosed the temporary tariff level on electric vehicles imported from China.
The European Commission said it would impose tariffs of 17.4%, 20% and 38.1% on BYD, Geely and SAIC respectively; 21% tariff will be imposed on other manufacturers; Tesla cars imported from China may be subject to a separate tax rate.
The announcement shows that if a solution cannot be reached with China, the additional tariff will be implemented around July 4.
The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded
In response, the spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce said that the European side ignored the facts and WTO rules, ignored China's repeated strong objections, and ignored the appeals and dissuasions of the governments and industries of several EU member states. China was highly concerned and strongly dissatisfied with this, and the Chinese industry was deeply disappointed and firmly opposed to it.
The above spokesman said that the determination in the disclosure of the European ruling lacked factual and legal basis. The European Commission, ignoring the objective fact that the advantages of China's electric vehicles come from open competition, the WTO rules, and the comprehensive cooperation of relevant Chinese enterprises on relevant investigations, artificially structuring and exaggerating so-called "subsidy" projects, abusing the "available facts" rules, and cutting out abnormally high subsidy rates, are blatant protectionist acts, and are creating and upgrading trade frictions, It is the reality of "destroying fair competition" in the name of "safeguarding fair competition", and it is the biggest "unfairness". This action by the European side will not only damage the legitimate rights and interests of China's electric vehicle industry, but also disrupt and distort the supply chain of the global automotive industry chain, including the EU.
Holding high the banner of green development and wielding the stick of "protectionism" at the same time, the European Commission politicizes and weaponizes economic and trade issues, which is not in line with the consensus spirit of China EU leaders on strengthening cooperation, will affect the atmosphere of China EU bilateral economic and trade cooperation, will not be conducive to the interests of EU consumers, and will also undermine the overall situation of the EU's own green transformation and global cooperation on climate change.
China urges the EU to immediately correct its wrong practices, earnestly implement the important consensus reached at the recent trilateral meeting of the leaders of China, France and Europe, and properly handle economic and trade frictions through dialogue and consultation. The Chinese side will pay close attention to the follow-up progress of the European side, and will resolutely take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
On the afternoon of December 12, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stressed at a regular press conference that the anti subsidy investigation was typical protectionism. The European side uses this as an excuse to impose tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, which violates the principles of market economy and international trade rules, damages China EU economic and trade cooperation and the stability of the global automobile production and supply chain, and ultimately damages Europe's own interests.
Strong opposition from the industry
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) strongly rejected the European Commission's proposed temporary countervailing duty on electric vehicles exported from China.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said that it hoped that the European Commission would not regard the periodic whole vehicle trade phenomenon that is necessary for the current industrial development as a long-term threat, let alone politicize economic and trade issues, abuse trade remedy measures, avoid damaging and distorting the supply chain of the global automobile industry chain, including the EU, and maintain a fair, non discriminatory and predictable market environment. We hope that the EU automotive industry will think rationally and take positive actions to jointly maintain the current situation of reasonable competition, mutual benefit and win-win results, and jointly promote the healthy and sustainable development of the global automotive industry.
In addition, the European Union China Chamber of Commerce also expressed shock, disappointment and dissatisfaction with this protectionist trade measure. The relevant person in charge of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of the European Commission said that the EU's investigation of China's pure electric vehicles was driven by political motivation and protectionism and lacked substantive and conclusive complaints from its domestic industry. In contrast, many European industry representatives expressed concern about the survey, saying that it may have a negative impact on the supply chain, innovation and market cooperation of pure electric vehicles in China and Europe.
On June 12, in response to the European Commission's decision to impose temporary countervailing duties on the import of electric vehicles made in China, the European Automobile Industry Association (ACEA) also issued an urgent public email to express its position.
The European Automobile Industry Association said that free and fair trade is crucial to building a globally competitive European automobile industry, and healthy competition promotes innovation and provides consumers with more choices.
BMW and other European car companies openly oppose
In fact, many European car companies have been opposed to this measure of the European Commission.
On June 12, BMW Group issued a special statement stating that it had a clear position on countervailing investigations. President of BMW Group Kipce said that it was wrong for the European Commission to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. The imposition of tariffs will hinder the development of European car companies, and will also harm Europe's own interests. Trade protectionism is bound to trigger a chain reaction: respond to tariffs with tariffs, and replace cooperation with isolation. For BMW Group, protectionist measures such as increasing import tariffs cannot help enterprises improve their global competitiveness. BMW Group firmly supports free trade.
Editor in charge: Peng Bo
Checked by: Zhao Yan
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