On July 22, SAIC Motor issued the "EU Convenes a Hearing and SAIC Submits a Preliminary Countervailing Preliminary Ruling Defense", stating that at the request of SAIC, the European Commission held a special hearing on the countervailing investigation at the EU headquarters in Brussels, and SAIC submitted a countervailing preliminary ruling defense to the European Commission to actively protect its legitimate rights and interests. The European Commission is expected to make a final ruling on November 2, and SAIC reserves the right to take further legal measures against the European Commission's unfair, unreasonable and illegal preliminary ruling.
At the special hearing on the anti-subsidy investigation held by the EU at the request of SAIC, SAIC Motor made it clear that the European Commission's countervailing investigation involves commercially sensitive information, such as the investigation requiring cooperation in providing battery-related chemical formulas, which is beyond the scope of the normal investigation; The European Commission made mistakes in determining subsidies, such as confusing auto finance companies wholly owned by foreign joint venture partners with affiliated enterprises of SAIC Motor, and included them in the calculation of subsidy rates; In the course of the investigation, SAIC Motor has submitted thousands of written materials, but the European Commission has ignored some of the key information and counter-arguments submitted by SAIC, and inflated the subsidy rates for many projects.
On June 12 this year, the European Commission officially issued a document saying that it would impose temporary tariffs on electric vehicles from China on July 4, and that BYD, Geely Automobile, and SAIC would impose tariffs of 17.4%, 20%, and 38.1% respectively; Tariffs of 21% or 38.1% will be imposed on other manufacturers. At that time, many car companies, including SAIC and Geely Holdings, expressed great disappointment with this decision. In this regard, SAIC said: "In response to the calculation errors in the pre-disclosure of the preliminary ruling, SAIC Motor quickly submitted a defense. ”
On July 4, local time, the European Commission issued an announcement that it decided to impose temporary countervailing duties on electric vehicles imported from China from July 5, with a maximum period of 4 months. During this period, EU member states will vote to decide on the final countervailing measures, and once the decision is passed, the EU will formally impose countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles for a period of 5 years. However, the European Commission said in the announcement that it will continue to negotiate with China with a view to reaching a solution that complies with WTO rules.
According to the announcement, the final tax rate has been slightly reduced compared to the tax rate disclosed on June 12, but not by much. Among them, BYD will keep the tax rate unchanged at 17.4%, Geely and SAIC will cut it to 19.9% and 37.6% from 20% and 38.1% respectively, and other Chinese automakers that have cooperated but not sampled will be subject to a weighted average tariff of 20.8%, and the tax rate for non-cooperative automakers will be 37.6%.
After the release of this measure, a number of car companies and Chinese associations have made strong statements. Among them, SAIC Motor issued a statement expressing strong protest, and pointed out that in order to effectively protect its legitimate rights and interests and the interests of global customers, it will formally request the European Commission to hold a hearing on China's temporary countervailing duty measures for electric vehicles, and further exercise the right to defend in accordance with the law.
It is worth mentioning that a few days ago, the European Commission reportedly signaled to Volkswagen and BMW that they may consider reducing import tariffs on electric vehicles made in China by the two automakers. The European Commission is willing to classify Volkswagen and BMW as companies that cooperate with the sample survey, thereby reducing the tariffs on Chinese-made models of the two automakers to 20.8 percent, compared with 37.6 percent under the current plan, people familiar with the matter said. But the European Commission has not yet made a final decision on whether to reduce import tariffs on Volkswagen and BMW's Chinese-made electric vehicles. Volkswagen declined to comment on the news, while BMW did not comment.
At the hearing, SAIC representatives also called for open competition to bring progress, and protectionism will only lead to backwardness, hoping that China and the EU will accelerate the cohesion of innovation through win-win cooperation and jointly create global green development.
In addition, the representative of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products clearly pointed out: "The European Commission violated many WTO rules and EU countervailing regulations in the preliminary ruling of this case; At present, the subsidy range calculated in the preliminary ruling does not reflect the real situation of the sampled enterprises in China; The Commission's decision to adopt temporary tariff measures has been strongly opposed by some EU member states, the Association of the Germany Automotive Industry Association and major European car manufacturers, seriously harming the interests of all parties in China and Europe."
"The development and growth of the electric vehicle industry in China and the EU lies in cooperation rather than conflict, and negotiations between the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the European Commission are currently underway, and we hope that the European Commission and China will work together to reach a balanced solution in response to the call of the EU industry," said a representative of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products. ”
Prior to this, on July 6, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also issued a document saying that it was resolutely unacceptable, and appealed: "The European Commission should not regard the current phased vehicle trade phenomenon that must be passed through for industrial development as a long-term threat, let alone politicize economic and trade issues, abuse trade remedy measures, and avoid damaging and distorting the global automotive industry chain and supply chain, including the European Union, and maintain a fair, non-discriminatory and predictable market environment." ”
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