On October 29, 2024, the European Commission announced the final results of its anti-subsidy investigation on Chinese electric vehicles, deciding to impose a five-year anti-subsidy tax on electric vehicles imported from China. Specifically, BYD 17.0%, Geely 18.8%, SAIC Group 35.3%, and other cooperative companies will be taxed at 20.7%. This move has aroused widespread attention and discussion, essentially reflecting another rise in trade protectionism within the EU.
On October 30, spokesperson Lin Jian of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that without an application from the industry, the EU institutions insisted on conducting an anti-subsidy investigation on Chinese electric vehicles and imposing high tariffs. This is a typical act of trade protectionism that will damage the cooperation of industrial chains and supply chains between China and the EU, damage the interests of European consumers, and damage the EU’s green transformation and global efforts to address climate change. For the EU, imposing anti-subsidy taxes may provide certain “protection” for its local electric vehicle industry in the short term and give it the so-called “breathing space”.
However, this behavior may bring serious backlash to the EU. On the one hand, imposing tariffs will increase the cost of European consumers purchasing electric vehicles and hinder the popularization of electric vehicles in Europe, which runs counter to the green transformation goal that the EU has always advocated. In the context of global efforts to address climate change, developing electric vehicles is an important way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve green transformation in the transportation field.
The EU’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is undoubtedly setting an obstacle on its own path of green transformation. For Chinese enterprises, this measure of the EU is undoubtedly a challenge, but it is not without countermeasures. After years of development, China’s electric vehicle industry has formed a complete industrial chain and strong technical strength, and has the ability to cope with external challenges. Chinese enterprises can reduce their dependence on the EU market and reduce the losses caused by tariffs by increasing efforts to explore other markets and improving product quality and
technical level. At the same time, the Chinese government can also promote the international development of the electric vehicle industry by strengthening trade cooperation with other countries and regions and create a broader market space for Chinese enterprises.
