According to news on September 21, the European Union recently announced a countervailing investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, which caused great controversy. A senior EU official weighed in on Wednesday, saying Europe is "still a long way off" from imposing new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič explained in an interview: "We are still far away from imposing import tariffs on Chinese electric cars. What I mean is that this investigation must be conducted fairly and must be handled appropriately."
The European Commission surprised many people last week when it announced a countervailing investigation into the Chinese electric vehicle market. They believe that China provides large subsidies that keep the price of electric vehicles in China low, so cheaper Chinese electric vehicles flood into the European market.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement: "China expresses great concern and strong dissatisfaction with this. China will pay close attention to the EU's protectionist tendencies and follow-up actions, and resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises."
According to the European Commission, the countervailing investigation could last up to 13 months. Specifically, provisional measures must be implemented no later than nine months, followed by final measures, if legally necessary, within four months.
But Sefcovic said: "At the same time, it is clear that we must redouble our efforts to ensure that our automotive industry remains very competitive. We have always prided ourselves on building the best, safest and cleanest cars in Europe."
This year, the sales share of China-made electric vehicles in Europe has risen to 8%. European officials believe this could reach 15% by 2025.
In addition, European officials pointed out that the price of domestically produced electric vehicles in China is about 20% lower than those made in the EU. The EU is increasingly concerned about the state of the electric car market as it approaches a 2035 deadline to ban the sale of new diesel cars.
"We have a lot of cooperation with the battery industry and car manufacturers. I am organizing different industry roundtables to discuss closely with the European car industry their needs and where we can help, so that we can launch more electric vehicle models and remain highly competitive in the European and global markets," Sevcovic said.
The EU imposes a 10% tariff on all imported cars, while the US tariff is even higher at 27.5%.