AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)10/06 Report--

On October 4th the European Union voted on whether to impose a five-year countervailing duty on Chinese electric vehicles. The European Commission's proposal to impose tariffs on Chinese imports of pure electric vehicles has won the necessary support of EU member states, according to a statement issued by the European Commission (hereinafter referred to as "the European Commission"). Decided to impose tariffs of up to 45% on electric vehicles imported from China.

According to the previously released draft, BYD will be levied 17 per cent countervailing duty on the three Chinese car companies sampled by the EU, Geely Motor will be levied 18.8 per cent countervailing duty and SAIC 35.3 per cent. Other Chinese car companies that do not accept a sample survey but cooperate with the EU investigation will be subject to a countervailing duty of 20.7 per cent, while other Chinese car companies that do not cooperate with the EU investigation will be subject to a countervailing duty of 35.3 per cent. It should be noted that this is a maximum tariff of 35.3% in addition to the original 10% tariff.

The number of EU members supporting tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is far lower than the number of EU members who voted against or abstained. The results of the vote showed that 10 EU member states supported the imposition of tariffs, 5 voted against it and 12 abstained. Thus it can be seen that the countervailing investigation launched by the European Commission is not widely supported, but is based on EU rules of procedure and has not been overturned.

Before and after the EU member states voted, Europe's leading carmakers made clear their opposition.

On October 6th BMW Group issued a statement on the imposition of tariffs by the European Union. The October 4 vote is an important signal for the European auto industry that has a bearing on the fate of the industry, the statement said. What is needed now is a quick settlement between the European Commission and China to prevent a trade conflict that no one has benefited. The fact that Germany voted against increasing tariffs is an important signal and increases the chances of a negotiated settlement.

BMW said in a statement that the EU's imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles would not work at all. Instead of making European carmakers more competitive, it could hurt companies that are actively doing business around the world. Moreover, the imposition of tariffs will also limit the supply of electric cars to European consumers, thus slowing the low-carbon development of the European transport industry. In addition, this practice has also seriously undermined the principle of free trade that the EU has always advocated.

In addition to BMW, two other local German carmakers have also publicly stressed that imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is a "mistake" and a "fatal signal" for the European auto industry.

Mercedes-Benz called on the European Commission to postpone the implementation of the measures it decided. Mercedes-Benz said in a statement that "we firmly believe that countervailing duties will weaken the competitiveness of an industry in the long run." Free trade and fair competition will bring prosperity, growth and innovation to all parties. Therefore, we believe that the imposition of countervailing duties proposed by the European Commission is a mistake, which may lead to far-reaching negative results. "" Now, it is more important than ever for the EU and China to maintain dialogue and reach a negotiated solution in the interests of both sides. We believe that both sides can find such a solution. "

Seattle Motor Co., a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, says it strongly opposes EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, saying it will endanger the European auto industry. The decision to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is difficult to understand than the EU's preferential tariffs on non-European competitors other than China. "Seattle and the entire European car industry will suffer a significant negative impact."

Xinhua News Agency commented that the countervailing investigation was initiated by the European Commission without a complaint from the EU industry, lacked general support from the industry, there were also huge differences among member states, and the EU set a very high threshold for overturning. The European side presupposes the conclusion that the practice in all aspects of the investigation violates its commitment to the principles of "objectivity, impartiality, non-discrimination and transparency" and does not comply with the rules of the WTO. The final disclosure of the investigation also admitted that no material damage to EU carmakers had been found in the export of electric vehicles from China. The EU's abuse of trade protectionism based solely on the so-called "threat of damage" seriously undermines the multilateral trading system based on WTO rules.

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