Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The EU is preparing to vote on whether to raise tariffs as high as 45% on imported electric vehicles produced in China on Oct. 4, Bloomberg News reported.
Member states have obtained a draft of the regulation for the proposed measures, the report stated, adding that the new date could still change. According to the report, the vote among the bloc’s member states was barely delayed amid last-minute negotiations with Beijing to attempt to find a resolution that would bypass the new levies.
The European Commission is on the brink of proposing final tariffs of up to 35.3% on EVs built in China, on top of the EU’s standard 10% car import duty. The proposed final duties will be subject to a poll by the EU’s 27 members. They will be enforced by the end of October unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members representing 65% of the EU population votes against the levies.
What is driving the EU’s decision to raise EV tariffs?
The vote comes after an investigation by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, discovered that China unfairly subsidizes its EV industry and tariffs are required so that European manufacturers aren’t at a detriment. China denies any unfair movement on its part and has endangered retaliatory tariffs on European products such as dairy, brandy and pork, as well as cars with big engines.
Member states including Germany and Spain have cautioned against imposing the tariffs, stating it could trigger a trade war. China is Europe’s second-largest trading member and the two did €739 billion ($825 billion) in trade last year. European officials are sure the bloc has the numbers to approve the tariffs, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, but are wary about creating predictions after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke out against the levies, while Germany has kept pushing for a deal with Beijing.
