The European Commission has officially voted to impose additional tariff rates of 7.8% to 35.3% on Chinese-made electric vehicles, which will be equivalent to a maximum of 45.3% if the original basic 10% tariff rate is combined, and different additional tariffs will be applied to each car brand. It is understood that 5 countries, including Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, oppose additional tariffs, while 10 countries, including France, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, are in favor of additional tariffs.
As Chinese EV brands continue to conquer the European market, it has become clear within the European Parliament and the European Commission that additional tariffs on EVs will be imposed, and since May this year, the EU has almost certainly taken action, and the final discussion remains only about how much and how long it will be levied.
Germany can be said to be one of the European countries with the highest interest in investment and trade with China, especially in the automotive industry, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen have recently made it clear that they oppose the EU's additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, fearing that it will lead to retaliation by tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Five countries, including Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta, voted against the additional tariffs in a vote within the European Commission.
On the other hand, 10 countries such as France, Italy, Poland, Netherlands and Denmark voted in favor of additional tariffs, on the one hand, the interests of the automobile industry in these countries are not as intertwined in China as Germany, and to some extent, some countries such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, etc., the outside world interprets more out of political considerations and opposition.
In addition, as many as 12 countries abstained, including Spain, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Greece, etc., and the outside world interpreted that these countries were difficult to choose between economic and political considerations, and finally chose not to abstain. Even so, the bill for additional tariffs was passed by the European Commission by a vote of 10 to 5.
The additional tariffs in the EU will vary depending on the brand, as previously reported by UCAR and the degree of cooperation of each brand during the EU investigation, the highest rate of tariffs is 35.3% for SAIC, 18% for Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, 17% for BYD, and 7.8% for Tesla products produced in China. The additional rate will eventually be announced by the EU at the end of October for a period of five years. In addition, the additional tax rate will be combined with the base tax rate of 10%, and the final tax rate should fall at 45.3% for SAIC Group, while 17.8% for Tesla China.