The EU has imposed duties on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) from China starting yesterday after talks between Brussels and Beijing failed to find an amicable solution to their trade dispute.
EVs have become a major flashpoint in a broader trade dispute over the influence of Chinese government subsidies on European markets and Beijing’s burgeoning exports of green technology to the bloc.
“By adopting these proportionate and targeted measures after a rigorous investigation, we’re standing up for fair market practices and for the European industrial base,” European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday.
Photo: Reuters
“In parallel, we remain open to a possible alternative solution that would be effective in addressing the problems identified and WTO-compatible,” he added.
The duties would stay in force for five years, unless an amicable solution is found.
According to the commission, which manages trade disputes on behalf of the 27 EU member countries, sales of Chinese-built electric cars jumped from 3.9 percent of the EV market in 2020 to 25 percent by September last year, in part by unfairly undercutting EU industry prices.
The duties on Chinese manufacturers would be 17 percent on cars made by BYD Co (比亞迪), 18.8 percent on those from Geely Holding Group Co (吉利控股集團) and 35.3 percent for vehicles exported by China’s state-owned SAIC Motor Corp (上海汽車). Geely has brands including Polestar and Sweden’s Volvo, while SAIC owns Britain’s MG, one of Europe’s best-selling EV brands.
Other EV manufacturers in China, including Western companies such as Volkswagen AG and BMW AG, would be subject to duties of 20.7 percent. The commission has an “individually calculated” rate for Tesla Inc of 7.8 percent.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce objected to the measures as protectionist and unfair.
“China does not agree with it and will not accept the ruling,” the ministry’s statement said. “China will continue to take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
The EU’s retaliatory duties have run into opposition in Germany, which has Europe’s biggest economy and is home to major automakers.
Hildegard Muller, president of Germany’s auto industry association VDA said the imposition of the tariffs is “a setback for free global trade and so for prosperity, the preservation of jobs and Europe’s growth.”
The move increases the risk of a far-reaching trade conflict, Muller said in a statement.
“The industry is not naive in dealing with China, but the challenges must be resolved in dialogue,” Muller added.
The rapid growth in China’s market share has sparked concern in the EU that Chinese cars would eventually threaten the EU’s ability to produce its own green technology to combat climate change. Business groups and unions also fear that the jobs of 2.5 million auto industry workers could be put in jeopardy, as well as those of 10.3 million more people whose employment depends indirectly on EV production.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS