All electric cars coming from China will begin to be registered at customs from today, at the request of the European Commission, within the framework of the investigation that Brussels has had open since last year due to suspicions that these vehicles are receiving illegal subsidies from Beijing. If confirmed, the Executive could apply retroactive tariffs.
The Commission has decided that all Chinese electric cars be registered with customs due to the “massive imports” of these vehicles in “a relatively short period of time,” a spokesperson explained. According to Commission calculations, between October 2023 and January 2024, almost 200,000 vehicles were imported into the EU, an average increase of 11% compared to the period before the investigation was opened.
With this registry, the volume of imports can be followed and evidence provided in the event of an investigation. Under EU law, if illegal subsidies are confirmed, “countervailing duties”, i.e. retroactive tariffs, could be requested. Brussels thus decides to move forward in the framework of its investigation with the registration of the vehicles because it considers that “it has sufficient evidence that imports of the affected product from China are being subsidized.”
Brussels opened an investigation last October to determine whether the value chains of these cars benefit from illegal subsidies and whether they cause economic damage to European producers. Chinese cars have a penetration of 8% in the community market and could double in 2025 if the same pace continues, but they cost 20% less than European cars. “There is a risk that an increasing number of Union producers will be affected by reduced sales volumes and reduced production levels if the level of imports at supposedly subsidized prices from China continues as before,” the Executive wields.