The European Union announced plans to increase tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) from 10% to as much as 38%, due to concerns over China’s subsidies harming European automakers, Associated Press reports.
This move follows an investigation by the European Commission, which found that China’s subsidies for its EV value chain provide an unfair advantage, threatening EU manufacturers. Chinese automakers like BYD and SAIC, and Western brands manufacturing in China, such as Tesla and BMW, have seen significant growth in EU market share, undercutting European car prices due to subsidies. The new tariffs will vary by company, with BYD facing an additional 17.4%, Geely (which owns Volvo) 20% and SAIC 38.1% extra, effective by July 4 if discussions with Chinese authorities do not resolve the issue.
China criticized the EU’s actions as protectionist and vowed to defend its interests. This development follows the US imposing major tariffs on Chinese EVs and other products, citing unfair subsidies by the Chinese government.
