EU Set to Impose up to 45 Percent Tariffs on China-Made EVs

The European Union (EU) announced on Oct. 29 that it is ready to collect extra customs duties on electric vehicles (EV) made in China after months-long negotiations with Beijing failed to address the issue identified by the bloc’s investigation.
Starting from Oct. 30, the new duties of up to 35 percent—on top of the standard 10 percent tariff—will come into force. These definitive duties will remain in place for the next five years.
“By adopting these proportionate and targeted measures after a rigorous investigation, we’re standing up for fair market practices and for the European industrial base,” the EU’s trade chief, Valdis Dombrovskis, said in a statement.
Despite the introduction of the definitive tariffs, Olof Gill, the commission’s trade spokesperson, said the negotiations between Brussels and Beijing will continue.
“Any such solution would have to be effective in addressing the problem identified by the investigation, as well as World Trade Organization-compatible,” Gill told reporters on Oct. 29.
Chinese EV giant BYD will incur a customs duty of 17 percent, while Geely, owner of Volvo and Polestar, will see a slightly higher tariff, 18.8 percent.
SAIC—the Chinese state-owned company that acquired Britain’s MG, one of Europe’s top-selling EVs—will face the steepest rate, 35.3 percent.
In contrast, Tesla, the U.S. EV manufacturer with a gigafactory in Shanghai, will be subject to the lowest duty, 7.8 percent.
Other Chinese EV makers deemed cooperative by the commission will face tariffs of 20.7 percent, while those considered noncooperative will be hit with the steepest duties, at 35.3 percent.
In response, China’s commerce ministry said in an Oct. 30 statement that Beijing “does not agree with or accept the ruling.”
Beijing’s foreign ministry said the EU’s move will hurt “the cooperation of industrial and supply chains” between the two sides and “undermine the EU’s efforts in green transformation and global climate change mitigation.”
“We hope the EU side continues to advance consultations with the Chinese side in a constructive manner, demonstrate sincerity and flexibility to seek solutions, and avoid the escalation of trade frictions,” Lin Jian, the ministry’s spokesman, said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Oct. 30.
By imposing these tariffs, the EU risks more retaliatory measures from Beijing. Yet analysts suggest that the tariffs could deliver a significant blow to the Chinese regime.
“Not only does this move threaten the competitive edge of Chinese EVs in Europe, but it also sends a clear signal: China’s strategy of leveraging state subsidies and exports to fuel its EV industry may be running out of steam,” David Huang, a U.S.-based researcher focusing on China’s trade policy, told The Epoch Times ahead of the EU’s announcement.
However, the implications of this move may extend beyond trade.
“Most of the electricity used to charge these EVs relies on coal-fired power generation and hydropower generation [in China], which are actually more polluting than gasoline,” Huang said, adding that Beijing “just employs the ‘new energy’ narrative as a means to mislead the international community.”