Electric Cars: EU Pushes Against China’s ‘Anti-competitive Behaviour’

 

The European Commission launched a probe into whether to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports. The probe aims to prevent a flood of cheap imports of Chinese EVs into the EU market. This could distort the market and harm European brands. The EU is checking whether it needs to impose tariffs to protect itself from Chinese electric car brands that benefit from state subsidies.

“Europe is open for competition, not for a race to the bottom,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, announced during her annual State of the Union speech in Strasbourg, France.

The European Commission president described the electric vehicle sector as “a crucial industry for the clean economy, with huge potential for Europe.” But cheaper Chinese electric cars continue flooding global markets, with their costs “kept artificially low by huge state subsidies,” she added.

China is the world’s largest market for EVs. The country has been providing subsidies to domestic EV makers to promote the use of clean energy cars. However, the EU has accused China of providing unfair subsidies to its EV makers, claiming could give them an unfair advantage over European brands.