On October 4, the European Union voted on whether to impose a five-year countervailing duty on Chinese electric vehicles. According to a statement released by the European Commission, the European Commission's proposal to impose tariffs on Chinese BEVs received the necessary support from EU member states in the vote.
The result of the vote sparked strong opposition from many parties
According to reports, EU member states recently voted on the final measures of the anti-subsidy investigation against China's electric vehicles, of which 12 countries abstained, 5 countries expressed opposition, and 10 countries voted in favor.
In this regard, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the EU issued a statement on the evening of October 4, expressing deep disappointment with the results of the vote and strongly protesting against the trade protectionist measures taken by the EU. The statement pointed out that the high countervailing duty on electric vehicles from China will not only affect Chinese companies, but also disrupt the production activities of European and global companies in China. At the same time, the Chamber believes that imposing heavy taxes on electric vehicles imported from China will not enhance the competitiveness of local industries in Europe and other markets, but may lead to a decrease in Chinese investment in Europe, which will ultimately weaken the competitiveness of the European market and the vitality of the global electric vehicle industry chain.
Germany Chancellor Olaf · Scholz delivered a speech on October 2, local time, expressing his desire to resolve the EU's temporary countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles through consultations with China. He said the EU's move should not hurt itself. In addition, Germany's Federal Finance Minister Christian · Lindner also called on Germany on October 4 to vote against countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles in the EU vote, arguing that the temporary countervailing duty proposed by the European Commission was a wrong decision.
A spokesperson for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) issued a statement on the incident on October 5, clearly expressing its opposition to the EU's ignorance of the good status quo of China-EU cooperation in the electric vehicle industry, its opposition to ignoring the rules of facts and investigation and not correcting its erroneous determination, and its opposition to imposing countervailing duties on China's electric vehicles. The spokesperson stressed that Chinese companies in the electric vehicle industry have always actively cooperated with the EU's investigation, and hope to properly resolve the electric vehicle trade dispute between China and the EU through price commitments and other methods on the premise of complying with WTO rules. The CCPIT and the China Chamber of International Commerce will continue to monitor the development of this case, and actively support the two sides in properly handling their differences through dialogue and consultation, so as to find a solution that is in the common interests of both sides and follows WTO rules as soon as possible.
Automobile companies will continue to defend their rights
According to an earlier announcement by the European Commission, three Chinese automakers, SAIC, Geely and BYD, participated in the committee's sample survey. The three companies face additional tariffs of 35.3 percent, 18.8 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Tesla, for its part, applied for an independent review and finally determined an additional tariff of 7.8%. For those companies that were not sampled but actively cooperated with the survey, they were subject to an additional tariff of 21.3%; Companies that do not cooperate with the survey face the same tariff rate of 35.3% as SAIC. All of these additional tariffs are in addition to the original 10 per cent tariff.
On the corporate side, Geely Holding Group issued a statement on October 4 on the interim countervailing duty rate announced by the European Commission, calling on the European Commission to carefully consider its decision-making and seek solutions that promote fair competition and healthy development. Geely also said that it will continue to pay close attention to the relevant developments of the European Commission, maintain communication with relevant parties, and take necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests and the interests of global users.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz issued a statement on October 5 stating that "we believe that the imposition of countervailing duties will weaken the competitiveness of an industry in the long term." Free trade and fair competition are the keys to prosperity, growth and innovation. Therefore, we believe that the European Commission's proposed countervailing duties are a wrong choice that could have far-reaching negative consequences. ”
Tariffs and investment are incompatible
Since the European Commission launched a countervailing investigation into China's electric vehicles, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products has acted as an industry apologist. The head of the chamber of commerce frequently travels to Europe to participate in relevant hearings, and has extensive exchanges with government officials and industry representatives from many EU countries.
The head of the chamber of commerce pointed out that the motive behind the choice of some EU member states to support the imposition of tariffs on China may be to "promote" Chinese companies to increase investment in Europe in this way.
In fact, from the arguments put forward by the EU side that even a final ruling would not prevent further negotiations with the Chinese side – it is clear that the EU wants to retain the right to conduct unreasonable investigations into China on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is unwilling to completely destroy relations and thus lose the opportunity to attract Chinese capital and technology.
China's position on this dual mentality of the EU is very firm: if it supports the imposition of tariffs, it will lose investment opportunities in China. The industry has made it clear that tariffs and investment cannot be combined. An open and fair market environment is the most powerful factor in attracting foreign investment. The EU cannot impose high tariffs on Chinese products on the one hand, and on the other hand, expect Chinese companies to come to invest and cooperate.
