The EU Commission announced that this proposal has received the necessary level of support from member states. “The adoption of the EU Commission's proposal to impose final countervailing duties on imports of electric cars from China has received the necessary support from EU countries,” the statement said.
This decision is considered an important step in the completion of the commission's anti-subsidy investigation. The statement noted that the EU and China continue to work on alternative solutions in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. The implementing regulation containing the final findings of the investigation will be published in the EU Official Journal by October 30, 2024 at the latest.
The Commission's proposal can be blocked if a qualified majority of 15 member states, representing 65 percent of the EU population, vote against it. Germany and Hungary oppose the additional tax, which is supported by France and Italy.
In recent years, the share of Chinese manufacturers in electric cars sold in European countries has been increasing rapidly, while low-priced and subsidized electric cars produced in China were leaving their competitors behind.
The EU Commission announced in July that it would impose a temporary additional tax on the import of Chinese electric cars into EU member states. Previously, the EU imposed a 10 percent tax on electric vehicles imported from China. With the new regulation, an additional tax of 7.8 percent is expected to be imposed on Tesla's models produced in China, 17 percent on BYD and 18.8 percent on Geely. Manufacturers that cooperated in the investigation but were not listed are planned to be taxed 20.7 percent, while SAIC and other non-cooperating companies are planned to be taxed 35.3 percent.
Additional taxes of up to 45 percent are expected to start to be collected in early November. This could lead to significant changes in the European automotive market and is hoped to provide a competitive advantage to domestic manufacturers.
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