tariffs are a big stick, hurting others and harming ourselves
2024-10-05
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recently, the european commission issued a statement stating that the proposal to impose final tariffs on electric vehicles made in china has received the "necessary support" of eu member states. however, according to eu diplomats, only 10 countries actually support the imposition of tariffs, 5 countries including germany and hungary voted against it, and 12 countries abstained from voting. such huge differences highlight the unpopularity of the eu's tariff increase on chinese electric vehicles.
china's electric vehicle industry has made remarkable achievements in recent years. it not only continues to make breakthroughs in technological innovation, but also has strong competitiveness in cost control and product quality. cooperation with chinese auto companies will help promote the electrification and intelligent transformation and upgrading of the european auto industry, which is an important opportunity to achieve win-win results. therefore, after the proposal to impose additional tariffs was passed, well-known european car companies such as mercedes-benz, bmw, volkswagen, and stellantis expressed their opposition, clearly stating that "this is a mistake" and "will weaken the competitiveness of an industry in the long run." the clearly "protected" side is complaining, but why do some eu member states still insist on imposing additional tariffs on china? some analysts believe that these countries want to reduce competitive pressure from china by imposing additional tariffs, and at the same time use trade pressure to force chinese companies to make larger investments in europe.
wishful thinking is possible, but it is mostly just wishful thinking. fundamentally, an open and fair market environment is the key to attracting investment. the investment intentions of chinese companies in europe depend on the openness and fairness of the market environment. no matter what the tax rate is, as long as the eu imposes additional tariffs on chinese products, it means that it has determined that the chinese automobile industry has enjoyed "unjust subsidies" and can subsequently use other means to increase suppression. the "tariff stick" itself means unfairness and is seriously contradictory to attracting investment. this is a basic economic logic. at the same time, although the eu automobile market is huge, it is not the only one. the markets in non-developed countries are still worthy of continued and in-depth exploration by chinese automobile companies to achieve "rural areas surrounding cities". therefore, the attitude of the chinese government and enterprises is very clear: if the eu insists on imposing additional tariffs on chinese products, china will also reduce its investment in europe.
in order to cope with challenges such as climate change and energy crisis, the electric transformation of the global automobile industry is a general trend. in this process, cooperation and openness are the prerequisites for achieving win-win results. the eu should realize that trade protectionism is not the solution to the problem, and drinking poison to quench thirst will only bring more problems. on the contrary, the eu should adopt an open and cooperative attitude and jointly promote the development of the new energy vehicle industry with china and other countries. the two sides can strengthen technology research and development cooperation and jointly overcome key technical problems; they can expand market cooperation and promote the popularization of electric vehicles on a global scale; they can strengthen industrial chain cooperation and achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages. in fact, chinese companies do not refuse to cooperate with european companies under fair and open market conditions, and are willing to properly resolve china-eu electric vehicle economic and trade disputes under wto rules. however, all measures require the eu to show sincerity in negotiation, respect market principles and the spirit of contract, be committed to properly handling frictions and differences through dialogue and consultation, and abandon unfair protectionist practices driven by politics.
in recent times, not only has the european union wielded a "tariff stick" against china's automobile industry, canada has also announced a 100% surtax on all chinese-made electric vehicles, and the united states has adopted "comprehensive blockade" measures, from raw materials to tariffs have been raised on everything from power batteries to complete electric vehicles, in an attempt to build a trade wall and block the way forward for chinese cars. however, since china's accession to the wto, it has encountered hundreds of anti-dumping and countervailing investigations, but these have failed to cause a fatal blow to related industries. the fundamental reason is that the quality of chinese products is there, and tariff barriers will eventually disappear in the face of consumer choice.
source: people's daily
