Chinese trade group slams ‘unfair’ EU tariffs on EVs

A logo of Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor is seen at its headquarter in Hangzhou, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province on May 14, 2024. A joint venture by global car giant Stellantis and Chinese electric vehicle start-up Leapmotor will start shipping cars to Europe in September, executives said on May 14. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT

Brussels, Belgium — A group representing Chinese companies on Tuesday said the European Commission’s plan to slap import duties of up to 36 percent on Chinese electric cars was “unfair” and would worsen trade tensions.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) “expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the EC’s protectionist approach,” the group said in a statement.

“The EC’s unfair use of trade tools to hinder free trade in electric vehicles, along with this protectionist approach, will ultimately weaken the resilience of the European electric vehicle industry,” the group said.

“It will exacerbate trade tensions between China and the EU, sending a profoundly negative signal to global cooperation and green development,” it warned.

READ: EU slaps Chinese electric cars with tariffs of up to 38%

Brussels last month slapped Chinese EVs with hefty provisional tariffs of up to 38 percent — on top of current duties of 10 percent — after an anti-subsidy probe found they were unfairly undermining European rivals.

On Tuesday the commission released a draft plan to make those tariffs definitive, at slightly revised rates, subject to input from interested parties by end-August, and to approval by EU member states by end-October.

A European Commission official said the EU executive remained “open” to resolving the dispute without resorting to tariffs — but that the ball was in China’s camp to offer an alternative solution.