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after the european union voted to pass the final draft ruling on the electric vehicle countervailing case, many european car companies, including mercedes-benz, bmw, and volkswagen, reiterated their opposition. so, how might additional tariffs on chinese electric vehicles affect europe's own automobile manufacturing industry?

wu sa, deputy director of the economic research institute of the national development and reform commission’s macroeconomic research institute:free and fair trade and open markets are the foundation for global prosperity and development, ensuring employment and achieving sustainable growth. free and fair trade provides european car companies with broad market access opportunities, promotes technological innovation and industrial upgrading, and achieves business growth and market expansion. european car companies are direct beneficiaries of free and fair trade and open markets.therefore, many european car companies support and advocate trade policies based on open rules, and oppose the imposition of tariffs, which undermines, violates wto rules, and interferes with the normal international trade order to hinder free trade and fair competition.

wu sa, deputy director of the economic research institute of the national development and reform commission’s macroeconomic research institute:if the trend of protectionism is allowed to rise, it will also damage the long-term interests of the development of the european automobile industry in the long run.in fact, china and europe share many common interests in the field of electric vehicles.china has advantages in battery technology and production capacity, while europe is leading in the field of vehicle design. automakers from china and europe can promote the innovative development of electric vehicles through technical exchanges and resource sharing, which will also benefit the overall competitiveness of the european auto industry. improvement. as andrea levi, chairman of the 2024 turin motor show in italy, said, this should become a healthy competition. only when car brands from various countries compete together can we make progress together.

voting process 'unusual' highlights divisions within eu

in fact, before and after the eu member states voted on the 4th, people from all walks of life in europe clearly expressed their opposition. the voting results also showed that the number of eu members supporting the imposition of tariffs on chinese electric vehicles was lower than the total number of eu members who voted against and abstained from voting. according to analysis, it can be seen thatthe countervailing investigation initiated by the european commission did not receive widespread support, but was based on the eu's rules of procedure and has not been overturned.

in this regard, daniel gross, advisor to the european parliament and director of the institute of european policy development at bocconi university in italy, acceptedglobal information broadcasting reporterin an exclusive interview, he said that although the european commission’s proposal was not rejected,but the voting process was "extraordinary" and highlighted internal divisions among eu member states。

daniel gross, director of the institute for european policy development at bocconi university in italy:this council of ministers vote is highly unusual. because such open confrontations are usually rare, countries typically do not vote against but instead work to reach a unanimous decision. what's even more unusual about this vote is that more countries abstained from voting than voted in favor.this shows that there are wide differences of opinion in europe about tax hikes.

in the name of "fair competition", the draft is actually "unfair competition"

as analyzed by european scholars, this vote seems to highlight the internal differences among eu member states on this matter. what does this mean?

wu sa, deputy director of the economic research institute of the national development and reform commission’s macroeconomic research institute:objectively speaking, the draft final ruling on the eu electric vehicle countervailing case is an unfair, non-compliant and unreasonable protectionist approach.this approach violates the principles of objectivity, fairness, non-discrimination and transparency, and is also inconsistent with wto rules. it is unfair competition in the name of fair competition.this method of imposing tariffs will not actually solve any problems. on the contrary, it will only shake and hinder the confidence and determination of chinese enterprises in investing and cooperating with europe. therefore, in recent times, political figures and industry representatives from many european countries have expressed their opposition to the european commission's investigation.

wu sa, deputy director of the economic research institute of the national development and reform commission’s macroeconomic research institute:although the proposal was passed in this vote, it was not unanimously agreed by all member states. in the final vote, 5 countries including germany and hungary voted against, 12 countries chose to abstain, and only 10 countries actually voted in favor. this situation reflects the different positions and interests of eu member states when facing competition in the global automobile market. many eu countries believe that this move will damage china-eu economic and trade cooperation and the stability of the global automobile supply chain, triggering concerns among european consumers that they will have to purchase cars at high prices, and may even affect subsequent normal trade relations with china. objectively, these differences will also help china and the eu continue to properly handle differences through dialogue and consultation, resolve frictions, and reach a solution that is in the common interests of both parties and in line with wto rules as soon as possible.

the european commission’s proposal to impose countervailing duties on chinese electric vehicles was approved >>

“another step away from global cooperation” many parties strongly oppose the eu’s increase in tariffs on chinese electric vehicles >>