Brussels makes tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China official. The European Commission announced this Tuesday that it will begin to apply additional taxes up to 35.3% on imports of electric cars of Beijing over the next five years. A measure that aims to counteract the aid that Xi Jinping’s Executive grants to companies in the Asian giant, which represents a violation of competition rules and provides companies in the Asian giant the ability to sell their products at lower prices. , engaging in practices of dumping.
To the 10% rate that the EU already applied to electric vehicles coming from Beijing, it will finally be necessary to add a maximum tariff of 35.3% that the community bloc will apply to those companies that have not collaborated with the investigation. The minimum tariff is also reduced, up to 17%. These rates will begin to be applied the day after their publication in the official journal of the EU, that is, no later than late Thursday at midnighta period that depends on the procedure of the Community Executive.
Brussels adopts these tariffs after carrying out a “rigorous” investigation, defended the economic vice president of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis. “We are defending a fair market and the European industrial base. At the same time, we remain open to a possible alternative solution that is effective in solving the problems detected and compatible with the World Trade Organization (WTO).”
For practical purposes, conversations between the Community Executive and the Chinese Executive continue in order to find a solution to the disagreement, which involves a commitment on the part of the exporters of not to market in the EU below certain price levels. A solution that would replace the tariffs themselves and that would fit with the regulations of the World Trade Organization. The last meeting, at the political level, took place last Friday and was settled along the lines of recent months: without a common position.
China’s latest warning came this week. He reprimanded the EU for carrying out individual negotiations with electric vehicle manufacturers on the prices at which they could market. Beijing warned that such practices could have a negative impact on trust between both parties and disrupt the negotiation process between both Executives.
The community spokesperson, Olof Gill, has pointed out that Brussels has followed the negotiation steps according to WTO rules and has formulated the response to China’s message: “the Commission’s negotiation with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce does not exclude talks with individual exporters. .Since these individual exporters submitted different undertaking offersthe Commission in fact has a duty to analyze them on their own merits, which means that we cannot discriminate between the compromise offers presented by different parties.
For now, Brussels allows some room for maneuver, importers can request a refund if they consider that their producer has not received these subsidies or if the aid received turns out to be lower than the fees paid by importers. Said request must be duly justified and supported by the respective evidence and will be subject to an investigation by the Community Executive.
The latest review from Brussels reduces to 35.3% the maximum rate that would be applied to Chinese companies that have not collaborated with the investigation, from the 37.6% that it set in July and which, in turn, represented a reduction from the 38.1% that was initially raised. Regarding the companies that have collaborated in the process, the European Commission reduced the rate to 20.7% for these companiesfrom 20.8% in July and 21% at the beginning. Such figures would be added to the 10% tariff already applied to imports of electric vehicles from China. Although this additional rate would be reduced to 7.8% in the case of Teslaa figure that responds to the amount of subsidies that Elon Musk’s firm receives from the Chinese Government and that, in the end, translates into a substantially lower amount compared to the companies of the Asian giant.
For the three main electric vehicle battery firms investigated, the European Commission proposes tariffs of 35.3% for SAIC, 18.8% for Geely and 17% for BYD, compared to 37.6%, 19.9% and 17.4%, respectively, which was raised in July. The rates would not have retroactive effect and will also apply to joint ventures between European and Chinese companies.
Community sources assure that, although the measure comes into force in the coming days, should not be immediately noticeable to consumers. As argued by a community spokesperson, imports of electric vehicles from China have increased in recent months, so the stocks current allows sellers to market these cars without being subject to tariffs that will be applied in the next five years.
The Asian giant has already called European tariffs “protectionist” and has already taken the EU measure to the WTO. In response, it has opened anti-dumping investigations againstimports of pork, dairy and brandy of the EU. The latter was finally settled with tariffs from Beijing. For its part, the EU has opened investigations for unfair competition into imports from China of solar panels, wind turbines and health products.
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