EU: Duties on Chinese Electric Cars Come into Force

Beijing opens dispute at World Trade Organization

The duties, determined by the European Commission and aimed at Chinese electric cars, came into effect on October 31, 2024. That’s an income tax of 17% for BYD, the industry giant that recently overtook US’s Tesla, 18.8% for Geely, 35.3% for Saic, a total of 20.7% for companies that cooperated with the EU Commission on subsidies, with which Beijing has supported the sector, and 35.3% for companies that did not cooperate. To this is added the already existing duty of 10%.

A decision that was clearly not welcomed by Beijing, which called the measure “unfair, unreasonable, and biased.”

China, Xinhua News Agency explains, always supports and promotes normal economic, trade, and investment cooperation with the European Union to achieve mutual benefit and mutually beneficial results in the automotive sector. The agency quoted He Yadong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, as saying: “China always maintains an open cooperative stance, adheres to the role of market leader and full competition, and cooperates with interested countries in the electric vehicle industry through tools that include trade, investment, and technology cooperation to jointly maintain the stability of the global automotive industry and supply chain.”

So there seem to be glimmers of hope for a future return to dialogue, even if Beijing firmly emphasizes that the imposition of duties is not in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

According to the Chinese newspaper Global Times, China “neither recognizes nor accepts” the EU’s final decision and has filed a lawsuit with the WTO under its dispute settlement mechanism.