EU to go ahead with tariffs on Chinese EVs after failure in talks

Beijing sought blanket deal applied to all companies through state-backed chamber of commerce as bloc preferred negotiations with each firm

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BYD electric cars waiting to be loaded on a ship stacked at the international container terminal in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in September. Photo: AFP

Finbarr Berminghamin Brussels

Published: 11:01pm, 29 Oct 2024Updated: 6:40am, 30 Oct 2024

The European Union has imposed duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles after talks with Beijing failed to reach a deal that would have halted their passage.

In a final ruling published on Tuesday, the European Commission confirmed that a top rate of 35.3 per cent would be applied to EVs from the state-owned company SAIC Motor and its subsidiaries, on top of a baseline 10 per cent duty that applies to all EV imports.

The ruling could be written into EU law as soon as Tuesday evening, ahead of the final procedural deadline for imposing the duties on Wednesday. Duties will be collected from midnight on the day after.

Chinese firms BYD and Geely, plus their subsidiaries, will pay lower additional duties of 17 per cent and 18.8 per cent, respectively. For Tesla, which cut a side deal with the European Commission, the rate is 7.8 per cent.

Other companies deemed to have cooperated with the EU’s anti-subsidy probe will pay a rate of 20.7 per cent, while those found to have been uncooperative will pay the maximum 35.3 per cent. The duties will be imposed for a period of five years.

China EVs hit with EU tariff hike

“We welcome competition, including in the electric-vehicle sector, but it must be underpinned by fairness and a level playing field,” said EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis.