Europe slugs Chinese electric cars with high tariffs in landmark vote

10/06/2024 08:02 PM

A majority of European countries have voted in favour of imposing high tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China.

The European Commission – the executive arm of the European Union (EU) – introduced import tariffs to varying degrees earlier this year to protect its car industry from being undermined by increasing numbers of cheap vehicles coming from China.

But now the member states have voted, the taxes have become official – with tariffs on Chinese cars set to rise from 10 per cent to 45 per cent for the next five years.

Not all members were in favour, however, with five countries – including Germany and Hungary – against the tariffs, while another 12 abstained altogether.

A total of 10 members voted for the changes, including the likes of France, Italy and Poland.

The move follows an EU investigation into how much state aid Chinese car manufacturers have received, which European politicians believe is unfair to local brands.

As a result of the probe, the European Commission set individual duties on three major Chinese EV brands: SAIC, BYD and Geely, reports the BBC.

At present, the EU is the largest overseas market for China's electric car industry, while Germany's car manufacturing industry is heavily dependent on exports to China.

According to The Guardian, BMW and Volkswagen have slammed the EU decision, with BMW saying it was a “fatal signal” for the European car industry, while VW dubbed it the “wrong approach”.

Far from being a fait accompli, however, the European Commission said the EU and China would “work hard to explore an alternative solution” in years to come.

China’s Commerce Ministry called the decision to impose tariffs “unfair” and “unreasonable”, leading to fears of retaliation on exports into China from other industries.

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