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[Global Times reporter Ni Hao, Global Times special correspondent in Germany Aoki] Reuters quoted two informed sources on the 16th as saying that the European Commission has sent a letter to Volkswagen andBMWThe European Commission is willing to classify the two automakers as so-called "cooperative companies" and impose a 20.8% provisional anti-subsidy tax on their models manufactured in China, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding that the decision has not yet been finalized given the sensitivity of the matter.

The European Commission previously announced that starting from the 5th of this month, the three sampled Chinese automakersBYD、auspiciousThe provisional countervailing duty rates applicable to EV manufacturers, including Shanghai EV manufacturer SAIC Motor Corporation, are 17.4%, 19.9% ​​and 37.6% respectively; other electric vehicle manufacturers that cooperated in the investigation but were not sampled will be subject to a provisional countervailing duty of 20.8%, while the tax rate for non-cooperative automakers is 37.6%.

Reuters reported on the 16th that before the EU announced the above temporary tariffs, BMW's electric vehicles produced in ChinaMINIThe Volkswagen brand's Seat brand cars Cupra Tavascan are not included in the EU's sampling analysis, which means they will automatically accept the highest tariff level. Industry insiders told the Global Times that if these foreign automakers in China do not respond to the EU's investigation and submit sampling questionnaires to the EU, they will be classified as non-cooperative manufacturers and will be subject to the highest tariff rate.

If a deal is reached, it would be the first compromise by the European Union on tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, but it would hurt some of Europe's other top automakers because they also produce cars in China and import them into Europe.TeslaRequires separate calculation of tax rates.

Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung commented on the 16th that the EU's actions towards China in trade policy are somewhat desperate and are a symbol of failure. "The EU is using existing protection measures more actively than ever before to slow down China's pace."

Huo Jianguo, vice president of the China WTO Research Association, told the Global Times that in order to balance the appeals from within the EU, especially from Germany, the EU may adjust the applicable tax rates for the two German companies. He believes that there is still "room for work and room for mutual policy balance" between China and the EU in the anti-subsidy investigation on Chinese automobiles. He said that there are still more than three months before the EU makes a final decision in November, and China and the EU can continue to negotiate and seek "room for maneuver" in the spirit of mutually beneficial and win-win economic and trade cooperation.