Since the European Commission launched a countervailing investigation into pure electric vehicles imported from China in October last year, although neither the British government nor the auto industry has requested a similar investigation, the British media have begun to exaggerate the "worry" about the competitiveness of China's electric vehicles.
According to the British "Guardian" reported on February 13, Oliver Griffiths, CEO of the British Trade Remedies Agency (TRA), said when asked about the relevant questions, the agency is in close communication with ministerial-level officials and the auto industry, and if any party asks to initiate a trade investigation, "we can start it at any time", but has not yet received relevant requests.
The Guardian claimed that Griffith's remarks came at a time when some British politicians were worried that the country was "confused" in trouble, claiming that British car companies could be driven to the point of "endangerment" by Chinese car companies.
On November 24, 2023 local time, in Sunderland, England, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to the media during a visit to the automaker Nissan. (Source: Visual China)
Since leaving the EU four years ago, the UK has dominated independent trade policy, and ministers or industry figures can ask the UK Trade Remedies Agency (TRA) to investigate the need for import controls to protect the UK's economic interests, and the UK government will make a decision based on the TRA's findings and recommendations. The agency launched an antidumping and countervailing duty investigation into excavators imported from China in November.
When asked about electric vehicles this time, TRA CEO Griffiths replied, "If anyone comes to us, we're ready to launch (the survey)." ”
However, Griffiths said that since the EU launched an investigation in October last year, the British government and car manufacturers have not mentioned the matter, and "we have not received any request from either party to investigate electric vehicles." But I know that people are watching this closely. ”
"We have been in close and regular contact with the industry on this issue, and a lot of people are paying attention to the import data. Again, I know that the government is paying close attention to this issue. Later this year, all eyes will be on Brussels, where they may propose a transitional measure. Griffith said.
Griffiths admits that whether the introduction of import restrictions on cars will help or hinder may be affected by the structure of the British car industry. He also hinted that cost-effective Chinese imports could benefit consumers and drive net-zero emissions targets.
"Essentially, it's a consumer product. Griffiths said Chinese products could accelerate the UK's green transition, so there were trade-offs, "and we obviously wouldn't have a say anything about it unless we were asked to open a case." ”
On April 21, 2022 local time, Manchester, England, the public charging station for energy vehicles of MotorFuelGroup in the United Kingdom.
According to the report, Griffiths's statement comes as some senior backbenchers of the British Parliament are increasingly concerned about the prospects of the British auto industry.
Last year, some members of the British Parliament's bipartisan China group claimed that Britain was "confused" into a situation where British car companies could be pushed to the point of "extinction" in competition with Chinese car companies.
Last week, Sam Lowe, a trade policy expert at Flint Global, a British political risk consultancy and a former member of the UK government's Strategic Trade Advisory Group, claimed that he expects the EU to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles this year, "Although the UK government and the auto industry are currently reluctant to publicly state that they want to follow the EU's measures, this is likely to change once Chinese cars scheduled to be shipped to the EU appear on British roads in large numbers." ”
But he also warned that if the UK government follows the EU's lead, the danger lies in "the response of the countries under investigation".
The report mentions that for the two major British political parties Conservative and Labour parties trying to revive the weak British economy, they want to increase the domestic electric vehicle manufacturing capacity in the United Kingdom.
The UK government has announced a £500 million subsidy to India's Tata Group, the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover, to build an electric vehicle battery plant. In addition, Nissan announced in November last year that it would renew its factory in the north-east of England to produce electric versions of its two best-selling models, which was welcomed by the UK government.
The Guardian found that German companies have expressed unease despite the EU's claim that the countervailing duty investigation is aimed at protecting the EU industry, which has provoked opposition. Similar to German companies, several British car companies also have partnerships with China.
For example, Jaguar Land Rover has a joint venture in China, Chinese battery technology company Envision Power operates the UK's only "super battery factory" in Sunderland, England, and supplies Nissan, and commercial vehicle maker London Electric Vehicle has been acquired by Geely Group.
A UK government spokesperson said: "UK automakers have not voiced their concerns to the UK Trade Remedy Agency and have not called for an investigation into electric vehicles imported from China. ”
The spokesman said the UK government is firmly supportive of the country's automotive industry, with £2 billion in funding and R&D grants by 2030, "Tata will invest more than £4 billion in a new gigafactory and Nissan will invest £2 billion in Sunderland to build electric vehicles, which will create jobs across the country." ”
It is worth mentioning that in November last year, Dominic Johnson, Secretary of State (Secretary of State for Investment) at the UK Department for Business and Trade, said that "commercial negotiations and political differences may coexist", and that he was trying to attract Chinese car manufacturers to invest in the UK, and that investment from China is also crucial to achieving the UK's environmental goals.
Regarding the EU's launch of a countervailing investigation into China's electric vehicles, China has previously responded by opposing various forms of trade protectionism.
On January 22, Ambassador Fu Cong, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, said that nine categories of Chinese products exported to Europe have been subject to anti-subsidy or anti-dumping investigations by the European side, among which electric vehicles have attracted the most attention. Many of the subjects surveyed by the European side are related to renewable energy. The imposition of high tariffs or other restrictive measures will not only hurt the interests of Chinese companies, but also European companies, and even undermine the EU's green transition efforts.
Ambassador Fu Cong said that despite the procedural shortcomings of the European side, the Chinese side is still consulting with the European side. Because China wants to avoid a situation in which the two sides have to take trade measures against each other.
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