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(written by wang yong and edited by gao xin)

on october 4, local time, eu member states held a vote on the final measures for the eu's anti-subsidy investigation against china's electric vehicles. 12 member states abstained from voting, 5 countries opposed and 10 countries agreed, which means that the european commission can impose regulations on products originating in china. electric vehicles are subject to hefty countervailing duties for five years. among the countries that voted in favor, france stood out.

observer.com noticed that many french mainstream media reported on this vote. agence france-presse reported in a report on the 4th that the french national cognac industry authority believes that “our request to postpone the vote and find a solution through negotiations has been ignored. the french authorities have abandoned us. we do not understand why our industry will be sacrificed like this." according to a previous report by voice of america, the french cognac industry has more than 4,400 farms and about 85,000 jobs. it is already in trouble after sales dropped by 22% in 2023. on september 17, french cognac manufacturers held a demonstration in the southwestern french town of cognac, demanding a postponement of the vote.

however, according to the french "le monde" report on october 2, french president macron reiterated his support for the eu to impose tariffs on chinese electric vehicles during his visit to berlin. "i do support the european commission," macron said. "european manufacturers must compete with some chinese automakers that have advantages."

china is france's largest trading partner in asia, and france is china's third largest trading partner and third largest source of actual investment in the eu. apart from buying time for the country’s auto industry, what were the other reasons for france’s vote in favor?

dr. yang penghui from the school of international economics and trade of the university of international business and economics told observer.com that france actively lobbied eu member states to support the proposal in the early stage. in order to maintain its political credibility within the eu, france needs to ensure that the final voting results are consistent with its previous propaganda. at the same time, because germany is more likely to vote against it, only france, as the backbone of the "yes" side, can ensure that the voting results are in line with its expectations. this may also be france's demonstration of its leadership within the eu.

in addition, yang penghui believes that france’s purpose is also to force chinese new energy vehicle brands to invest in france and europe. “this move will help increase french employment and tax revenue, reduce the trade deficit with china, support france’s green transformation policy, and maintain its strategic autonomy in the industrial sector”.

of course, france will also assess the possibility that china will counterattack against certain french exports. "however, judging from historical records, china has not taken such trade measures against france alone." yang penghui told observer.com.

since january 2024, china has launched an anti-dumping investigation into eu brandy (under 200 liters), polyformaldehyde copolymer, related pork and pig by-products, and launched a countervailing investigation into dairy products. "previously, china's most recent import investigation into the eu was in july 2019. although france is one of the major producers of these products, germany, italy, spain, poland, the netherlands, and ireland also occupy important positions." yang penghui said, "the luxury goods industry, another advantageous industry in france, has already suffered high tax rates, and the actual effect of tariff measures may be limited. therefore, based on these considerations, france's concerns about china's aggressive trade countermeasures are relatively limited."

relatively speaking, yang penghui believes that france is more worried about the political pressure that the deterioration of china-eu trade relations may bring.

this article is an exclusive manuscript of observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.