The European Commission’s decision to impose provisional countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles (see EUROPE 13430/1) lacks a “factual and legal basis”, according to He Yadong, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Consequently, “China reserves the right to file a suit [at] the WTO [World Trade Organization] and take all necessary measures to resolutely defend the rights and interests of Chinese companies,” he asserted on Thursday, 13 June.
China has been accusing the EU of protectionism since the latter opened an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles exported to Europe (see EUROPE 13250/36). For its part, the European Commission is defending an investigation that is based on figures and that respects the terms of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
If China wanted to file suit against the EU at the WTO, it could submit a request for consultations before calling for a panel to be established. This panel would be responsible for verifying the legality of both the EU’s investigation and its conclusions.
The European Commission is confident that it has complied with the WTO’s rules throughout its investigation. Countermeasures According to a news story published by the Chinese media outlet Global Times on Thursday, 13 June, a request for an anti-dumping investigation into certain pork imports from the EU has been submitted to Chinese authorities. The newspaper had reported the day before that not only was the sector gathering information for this purpose but also that the dairy products industry in China was planning to request an anti-subsidy investigation be opened against European dairy product imports. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)