The European Commission confirmed on Tuesday the decision to impose higher tariffs on imports of electric vehicles from China, following a probe on the issue. The commission disclosed the individual higher duties that it will impose on several producers in case the decision will be confirmed no later than the end of October.
The investigation started in October 2023 and by July the Commission resolved into imposing higher tariffs on Chinese-produced EVs due to concerns that they receive market-distorting subsidies from the state, breaking fair trade regulations.
The Commission released the draft definitive findings as part of the investigation process. Changes can still be made in case of successful appeal by the involved companies, but they need to request a hearing with the Commission and need to provide elements within the next 10 days.
So far, the European Union changed slightly the higher tariffs and decided to not retroactively collect duties. SAIC will have a 36.3% raise, followed by Geely at 19.3% and BYD at 17%. Other companies that cooperated with the investigation will have their import duty raised by 21.3%, while non-cooperative ones will have the same duties as SAIC. In addition, the Commission decided to place a 9% duty on its Chinese imports to Tesla.
Another slight change involved Chinese exporters and joint ventures with EU producers that didn’t export in the timeframe that was investigated. Those companies were spared higher tariffs and will benefit from lower duty rates.
The Commission now has four months to confirm the measures via a vote from member states. Following the vote, the measure will be in force for five years, but can be renewed.
