European Commission’s Chinese EV tariffs plan to proceed despite German opposition
Clean Energy Wire / Euronews
The European Commission will proceed with its proposals to impose additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles following a key vote among member states on 4 October, said a press release from the Commission. EU members states opposing the tariffs – including Germany – failed to reach the necessary majority to block the proposal.
Euronews reported that just under half (12) of the members states abstained from the vote, with 10 voting in favour and five voting against including Germany, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia. Despite today’s vote, EU-China negotiations can continue until 30 October with the possibility of finding an agreement to prevent the tariffs. China attacked the probe from the very outset, labelling it a "naked protectionist act,” an denying the existence of any subsidies, wrote Euronews.
Germany sought to block the proposal to protect its car industry, which relied on China for a third of its sales last year, from any Chinese retaliatory measures. To block the proposal Germany, would have needed to win the support of another 14 member states for a so-called qualified majority, comprising 65 percent of the EU’s population.
The proposal follows on from a nearly year-long investigation resulting from the Commission’s serious concerns that China’s extensive use of subsidies to stimulate its internal EV industry and sell on global markets at an artificially low price, is undermining European carmakers. The tariffs would vary by manufacturer depending on the amount it received in subsidies and its willingness to cooperate with the Commission, from 17 percent for BYD, to 35.3 percent for SAIC, which would fall on top of an existing 10 percent tariff on imported battery-electric cars.
Germany is not currently on track to meet its target of having 15 million electric cars on its roads by 2030, despite being the world’s second largest producer of electric cars in 2023. In June, German carmakers warned that EU tariffs on Chinese imports could slow the transition to clean transport, urging greater cooperation between countries on e-cars.
