The European Commission will impose additional tariffs of between 17.4% – 38.1% on electric cars produced in China.
The move follows preliminary findings from its anti-subsidy investigation which confirmed its suspicions that Chinese state support is distorting prices.
“The value chain of Chinese electric cars benefits from unfair subsidisation, which poses a threat of economic injury to EU battery electric vehicle producers,” stated EU Commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas.
“When our partners breach the rules, we will assert our rights,” added executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis who said the anti-subsidy investigation is based on clear evidence under the global system of trade rules.
The duties will vary by car maker with Chinese state-owned manufacturer SAIC facing the highest duty at 38.1%, Geely at 20%, and BYD at 17.4%. Western brands producing electric cars in China, such as Tesla, Dacia, and BMW, will face a 21% duty.
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