The China Automobile Manufacturers Association described as “unacceptable” the tariffs announced by the European Commission (EC) of up to 38.1% on the import of Chinese electric vehicles, while criticizing the investigation carried out by the authorities European.
The Association expressed in a statement published on its official account on the Wechat social network its “disappointment” at what it considers a “distortion of the results of the investigation” by the community bloc, while ensuring that “the automotive industry of “China has actively collaborated, providing all the documentation required by the investigating authorities.”
Chinese manufacturers accused the Commission of “biasedly selecting companies for sampling” and “abusing its investigative power.”
Chinese manufacturers: “reasonable competition and mutual benefit”
“Chinese electric vehicle exports have not only provided excellent consumer experience locally, but also positively contributed to market cultivation and industrial development in importing regions,” the institution said.
The Association urged the Commission “not to politicize trade issues or abuse trade rescue measures,” to “avoid harming the global automotive industry supply chain.”
The organization assured that major automotive companies in China and Europe are “collaborating more deeply in areas such as electrification and connectivity, jointly contributing to global automotive technological advancement and ecological transformation.”
Finally, the manufacturers’ association expressed its hope that the EU automobile industry will “think rationally, act positively and collaborate to maintain the current situation of reasonable competition and mutual benefit.”
Government of China: “Lack of factual and legal basis”
The day before, China’s Ministry of Commerce urged the Community Executive to immediately correct its “erroneous practices,” criticizing Brussels’ decision for its “lack of factual and legal basis.”
In recent weeks, the Chinese state press has advanced possible retaliation by China, such as an increase in taxes on the import of large-displacement vehicles or anti-dumping investigations against dairy or pork from Europe. The latter would especially affect Spain, since it is the main exporter of pork to the Asian country.
The EU move was announced less than a month after Washington revealed plans to quadruple tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 100%.
China’s auto industry, a mix of state-owned and private companies, has cost advantages over its foreign competitors, in part due to government subsidies and the country’s dominance in refining battery minerals, analysts consulted by the agency said. Reuters news.
But hypercompetition in China’s electric vehicle market, the world’s largest, has also led companies to innovate in ways that have reduced costs.
The EU’s provisional tariffs will apply on July 4, and the investigation will continue until November 2, when definitive tariffs could be imposed, generally for five years.
European manufacturers fall on the stock market for fear of Chinese retaliation
While European automakers face the challenge of an influx of lower-cost electric vehicles from their Chinese rivals, there is virtually no support for tariffs from the continent’s auto industry.
Some of the biggest opponents include Europe’s largest automakers, such as BMW, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Mercedes Benz.
German automakers in particular rely heavily on sales in China and fear retaliation from Beijing. European car companies also import their own vehicles made in China.
Shares in some of Europe’s biggest automakers, which make a large portion of their sales in China, fell on Wednesday on fears of Chinese retaliation.
German carmakers led the losses, with five among the six companies losing the most: Porsche SE lost 7.18%; Porsche AG, 1.79%, Volkswagen, 1.48%; BMW, 0.96%; and Mercedes-Benz, 0.9%.
However, shares of Chinese EV makers mostly ignored the news, as expected. Thus, Hong Kong-listed BYD shares rose more than 7% in early trading, on track for their biggest one-day percentage gain since November 2022.
Geely Auto rose more than 3%, Leap Motor rose 3% and Great Wall Motor shares in Hong Kong fell 1.2%. In Shanghai, SAIC Motor shares fell 2.3%.
rml (efe, reuters)
