On Wednesday 5 November, the European Commission announced that it was launching an in-depth investigation under its Unfair Foreign Subsidies Regulation (‘FSR’) into a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned company CRRC, which had bid for a Portuguese public contract to supply metro trains.
Portugal CRRC Tangshan Rolling Stock Unipessoal, a subsidiary of CRRC, notified the Commission, in accordance with the FSR Regulation, that it had received foreign subsidies when bidding for the Portuguese public contract. After a preliminary examination, the Commission considered that there was sufficient evidence to suspect an unfair competitive advantage created by the subsidies received. It has therefore decided to launch an in-depth investigation.
The Chinese company CRRC had already been investigated in 2024 under the FSR regulation (see EUROPE 13352/4). It subsequently withdrew from the race, leading to the closure of the investigation by the Commission (see EUROPE 13380/21).
The Commission will now have to determine whether this is indeed a case of unfair competition. If necessary, it may accept corrective measures from the company, or go so far as to prohibit it from taking part in the public contract. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)