The European Union has requested its 27 member states to submit their opinions on imposing tariffs on electric cars from China by midnight on Monday, July 15th. According to sources from the governments of Italy and Spain, these two countries have expressed their support for the EU imposing tariffs on imported Chinese electric cars.
Reports from Reuters on Monday, July 15th, indicate that the EU member states’ positions on this matter are non-public informal expressions, but they may influence the EU’s final decision. Since early July, the EU has imposed temporary tariffs of up to 37.6% on imported Chinese electric cars, escalating tensions between the EU and China.
The European Commission is seeking opinions from EU governments in a “consultative” vote on whether to impose tariffs in this highly watched trade case. The opinions of the member states are expected to be taken into consideration when deciding on the imposition of tariffs.
Sources mentioned on Monday that Italy has voted in favor, and Spain is expected to cast a supporting vote in written comments. Additionally, France has been one of the staunchest supporters of imposing the tariff.
Sources indicated on Friday that Germany will abstain from voting as the anti-subsidy investigation is still ongoing, and negotiations between the EU and the Chinese government are underway. In this preliminary informal expression stage, abstaining from voting implies support for the EU.
Johan Forssell, the Minister for International Development Cooperation and Trade of Sweden, stated on Monday that Sweden will abstain from voting. Poland stated that consultations are still ongoing within various departments in Warsaw.
Ten years ago, the European Commission did not impose tariffs on Chinese solar panels because a significant number of EU member states did not support the imposition of tariffs, resulting in the collapse of the EU’s solar panel manufacturing industry.
The European Commission will continue its investigation and decide whether to propose definitive tariffs valid for five years.
If the EU indeed moves forward with imposing tariffs, it will require a binding vote among EU member states. If a majority of countries representing at least 65% of the population of the EU cast opposing votes from 15 member states, the tariffs will be blocked.