On Tuesday 29 October, the European Union concluded its anti-subsidy investigation by imposing definitive countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China for a period of five years.
As from the entry into force of the measures, the Chinese exporting producers concerned will be subject to countervailing duties ranging from 17.0% to 35.3%. Following a request for individual examination, Tesla will be subject to a duty of 7.8%.
At the same time, the EU and China are continuing to negotiate with a view to reaching a possible agreement on an undertaking with exporters to compensate for the injury identified by the EU. The possibility of introducing a minimum price (‘price undertaking’) below which Chinese companies would be prohibited from marketing their vehicles in Europe has been raised.
However, at this stage, the Chinese proposals are still “insufficient”, according to a European source, who nevertheless spoke of “progress” made in recent weeks.
The aim of these measures is to restore “fair competition” within the sector, according to the EU, in order to help European businesses regain their competitiveness and move forward with the green transition.
Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta voted against the proposed taxes at the beginning of October (see EUROPE 13497/1), but largely failed to muster the majority needed to reject them.
The German car lobby reacted by warning that the decision could lead to a wider “trade conflict”.
See the legal text: https://aeur.eu/f/e2r (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)