Link Securities | As part of the conclusions of the European investigation into China’s anti-competitive subsidies, the European Commission (EC) has revised tariffs on Chinese car imports downwards, after gaining a clearer picture of the support enjoyed by China’s car industry, according to Expansión newspaper on Tuesday. In this sense, the EC said yesterday that it considers that Chinese manufacturers enjoy an “unfair” advantage because of the subsidies they receive from the country’s government.
According to the EC, these reviews demonstrate that it fully respects all relevant rules and obligations and bases its conclusions strictly on facts and evidence, and that the utmost care is taken to ensure that the investigation is sound and correct.
The measures will be in force for five years, extendable upon reasoned request and subsequent review.Thus, the EC has confirmed that the levy will be 17% for BYD, 19.3% for Geely, and 36.3% for SAIC. In all these cases, this is several tenths of a percentage point lower than the first announcements made when the measures were proposed. Other manufacturers that have cooperated with the EC services during the investigation will face a tariff of 21.3%, three tenths more than in the first proposal, while the rest that have not cooperated will be subject to the higher rate of 36.3%, also down from the maximum tariff the EC put on the table in June of 38.1%.
For vehicles manufactured in China by US-based TESLA (TSLA-US), the tariff will be 9.0% from the 20.8% initially set. This revision comes after the company submitted a substantiated request for an “individual review” to determine its duty level based on the specific subsidies it received.
These duties will be in addition to the 10% that the European Union (EU) already levies across the board on imports of battery electric vehicles.
