AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)07/22 Report--

On July 22, SAIC issued a "preliminary countervailing opinion submitted by SAIC at the EU hearing", saying that at the request of SAIC, the European Commission held a special hearing on countervailing investigation at the EU headquarters in Brussels. SAIC submitted preliminary countervailing opinions to the European Commission to actively safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. SAIC reserves the right to take further legal measures in response to the Commission's unfair, unreasonable and illegal preliminary ruling, which is expected to be made by the European Commission on November 2.

At the special hearing of the countervailing investigation held by the European Union at the request of SAIC, SAIC clearly pointed out that the European Commission countervailing investigation involves commercially sensitive information, such as the investigation requires cooperation with the provision of battery-related chemical formulations, which is beyond the scope of the normal investigation; there are errors in the European Commission's determination of subsidies, such as confusing the auto financing companies wholly owned by foreign joint ventures as affiliated companies of SAIC, and bringing them into the scope of subsidy rate calculation. SAIC has submitted thousands of written documents in the course of the investigation, but the European Commission has ignored some of the key information and defense opinions submitted by SAIC and falsely increased the subsidy rates for several projects.

On June 12 this year, the European Commission officially released a document saying that temporary tariffs will be imposed on electric vehicles from China on July 4, with tariffs of 17.4%, 20% and 38.1% on BYD, Geely Automobile and SAIC, respectively. Tariffs will be 21% or 38.1% on other manufacturers. At that time, a number of auto companies, including SAIC and Geely Holdings, expressed disappointment with the decision. In response, SAIC said: "SAIC quickly submitted a defense against the calculation errors in the preliminary pre-disclosure."

On July 4, local time, the European Commission announced that it would impose a temporary countervailing duty on electric vehicles imported from China from July 5 for a maximum period of four months. In the meantime, EU member states will vote on the final countervailing measures, and once the decision is passed, the EU will formally impose a five-year countervailing duty on Chinese electric vehicles. However, the European Commission said in its announcement that it would continue to consult with the Chinese side with a view to reaching a solution in line with WTO rules.

According to the announcement, the final tax rate has been reduced slightly, but not by much, compared with the rate disclosed on June 12. Among them, BYD kept the tax rate unchanged at 17.4%, while Geely and SAIC reduced from 20% and 38.1% to 19.9% and 37.6% respectively. Other Chinese car companies that cooperated but were not sampled will be subject to a weighted average tariff of 20.8%. The tax rate for uncooperative car companies is 37.6%.

After the release of this measure, a number of car companies and Chinese associations have made strong statements. Among them, SAIC issued a statement expressing strong protest, and pointed out that in order to effectively safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and the interests of global customers, it will formally request the European Commission to hold a hearing on China's temporary countervailing duty measures on electric vehicles, and further exercise the right of defense in accordance with the law.

It is worth mentioning that a few days ago, the European Commission reportedly signaled to Volkswagen and BMW that it might consider lowering import tariffs on electric vehicles made by the two carmakers in China. The European Commission is willing to classify Volkswagen and BMW as companies that cooperate with sample surveys, reducing tariffs on Chinese-made models of the two companies to 20.8 per cent, compared with 37.6 per cent under the current plan, according to people familiar with the matter. But the European Commission has not finally decided whether to lower import tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars made by Volkswagen and BMW. Volkswagen declined to comment on the news, while BMW did not comment.

At this hearing, SAIC representatives also called for open competition to bring progress and protectionism to only lead to backwardness. It is hoped that China and the EU will speed up the gathering of innovative forces and create global green development through win-win cooperation. In addition, the representative of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Mechanical and Electrical products clearly pointed out that the European Commission violated many practices of WTO rules and EU countervailing regulations in the preliminary adjudication of this case, and that the subsidy rates calculated in the current preliminary adjudication could not reflect the real situation of Chinese sampled enterprises. The European Commission's decision to adopt temporary taxation measures has been strongly opposed by some EU member states, the German Automobile Industry Association and major European automobile manufacturers, seriously harming the interests of all parties in China and Europe.

Prior to this, on July 6, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also issued a statement saying that it was absolutely unacceptable and called on: "the European Commission should not regard the current phased vehicle trade phenomenon necessary for industrial development as a long-term threat." what is more, we should not politicize economic and trade issues, abuse trade relief measures, and avoid damaging and distorting the supply chain of the global automobile industry, including the European Union. Maintain a fair, non-discriminatory and predictable market environment. "

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