The European Commission notified car manufacturers on Wednesday (June 12) that it will impose an additional tariff of up to 38.1% on electric vehicles imported from China, scheduled to be implemented starting in July. According to reports from Reuters, the European Commission stated that Chinese electric vehicles from BYD will face an additional tariff of 17.4%, Geely’s electric vehicles will be subject to a 20% tariff, and electric vehicles from SAIC Group could face as high as 38.1% in tariffs.
For Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers cooperating with the anti-subsidy investigation, a 21% tariff will be added. In October 2023, the EU initiated an anti-subsidy investigation on Chinese electric vehicles. A survey report released by the German Economic Institute (IW) on June 11 revealed that 80% of German companies support the imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
The practice of unfairly low-priced exports by Chinese companies is not unique to the automotive industry. A survey conducted by the German Economic Institute from March to April this year showed that at least 350 German companies engaged in manufacturing and industrial services face unfair competitive pressure from Chinese companies, which often enter the market with prices discounted by over 30%.
More than half of the surveyed companies indicated that Chinese competitors offering similar products tend to drive prices down by over 20%. In the industrial sector, nearly two-thirds of the surveyed enterprises mentioned that the competitive pressure from Chinese companies has increased significantly over the past five years. Similarly, these companies anticipate that such pressure will continue to intensify in the next five years.
Many German companies are facing threats of market share loss and declining profits, leading to measures such as production cuts, layoffs, and relocations.
The survey results demonstrate ample evidence that China’s extensive subsidies and wide-ranging support have resulted in the extremely low prices of Chinese goods. The German business community supports the EU taking tougher measures to counter unfair competition from Chinese companies. 80% of the surveyed companies believe that the EU’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is “justifiable” or “partially justifiable.”