The European Commission has imposed provisional import duties ranging from 17.4% to 37.6% on electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China, citing unfair state subsidies throughout the manufacturing and sales process.
These duties took effect starting Friday and will last for up to four months, the commission announced in a statement on Thursday. During this period, European Union (EU) member states will vote on whether to make these tariffs permanent for a five-year term.
EU Imposes Anti-Subsidy Duties On Chinese EVs : Voting and Impact
A qualified majority, meaning at least 15 out of the 27 EU countries representing at least 65% of the total EU population, will need to vote against the duties to prevent them from becoming permanent.
“Our investigation concluded that the battery electric vehicles produced in China benefit from unfair subsidization, which is causing a threat of economic injury to the EU’s own electric carmakers,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, the commission’s executive vice president in charge of trade.
