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Editor: Ye Jinyan

Produced by: Deepnet·Tencent News Xiaoman Studio

On August 20, the European Commission disclosed to relevant parties the draft decision on imposing final anti-subsidy duties on pure electric vehicles imported from China, which was a slight reduction from the temporary tax rate announced on July 5.

The three companies sampled are: BYD,auspicious, SAIC, the proposed tax rates are 17%, 19.3%, and 36.3%. Compared with the temporary tax rates more than a month ago, they are reduced by 0.4%, 0.6%, and 1.3%, respectively. Compared with the preliminary ruling in June, the tax rates are reduced by 0.4%, 0.7%, and 1.8%, respectively. SAIC, which was ruled to have the highest tax rate, has filed two defenses in accordance with the law.

The draft decision shows that the EU will impose anti-subsidy tariffs of 21.3% on other companies and 36.3% on all other non-cooperative companies.TeslaA separate tariff rate of 9% is imposed on Chinese exporters. In addition, the European Commission decided not to impose anti-subsidy duties retroactively.

According to CCTV News, interested parties will provide comments within 10 days and request a hearing with the Commission's service department. The final decision must be implemented within 4 months after the temporary tariffs are imposed, and the vote is binding. Interested parties can apply to extend the measures, which are valid for 5 years, based on reasonable requests and subsequent reviews.

On October 4, 2023, the European Commission launched an anti-subsidy investigation against Chinese electric vehicles, targeting pure electric vehicles originating in China with a passenger capacity of no more than 9 people. The European Commission said that based on market information collected from various independent sources, there is sufficient evidence that electric vehicles originating in China can quickly expand their market share in the EU at low prices due to government subsidies, which has harmed the EU's automotive industry. According to the basic regulations, the EU will end the investigation and announce the final decision by November 2, 2024 at the latest.

Previously, China filed a lawsuit against the EU's temporary anti-subsidy measures on electric vehicles at the World Trade Organization (WTO). A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said that the EU's preliminary ruling lacked factual and legal basis, seriously violated WTO rules, and undermined the overall situation of global cooperation in addressing climate change. We urge the EU to immediately correct its wrong practices and jointly maintain the stability of China-EU economic and trade cooperation and the electric vehicle industry chain supply chain. At present, China has resorted to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism over the EU's temporary anti-subsidy measures on electric vehicles.

Opposition to the EU's tariff increase is not limited to China. Germany's leading automakers and the German Association of the Automotive Industry have also expressed their clear opposition. The German Association of the Automotive Industry believes that the tariff increase will not only have a negative impact on European consumers and companies, but will also hinder the development of the EU's domestic electric vehicle market and will not be conducive to achieving climate goals.

German car companies' joint venture brands in China, such asSAIC Volkswagen、FAW-Volkswagen、FAW Audi、BMW Brilliance、Beijing BenzEtc. will also be subject to a 21.3% tariff.

According to data from 16 EU member states compiled by data company Dataforce, China's electric vehicle registrations fell 45% month-on-month in July due to anti-subsidy tariff policies.

Although the EU Commission expects the final ruling to receive full support from the 27 member states, thereby formally implementing tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, everything is uncertain before the final ruling and there is still a possibility of overturning the tariff policy.