Trade tension between China and the West continues to rise. After the announcement on the increase in duties on electric cars by Europe, the Beijing government is ready to respond. The confirmations arrive through the Chinese media. Several spokespersons for the Ministry of Commerce they made it known through l‘CCTV broadcaster, the national television, which China will resort to WTO courtthen alluding toimposition of duties on large-displacement European cars.
tariffs on Western cars
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The measure had already been anticipated in May, when the US officially communicated the increase in duties on electric cars. In a note published on her X account, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Brussels had opened up the possibility of imposing temporary tariffs up to 25% on Western cars with a displacement greater than 2.5 litres. The measure would comply with WTO guidelines and, according to the words of Liu Bin, deputy director of the China Automotive Strategy and Policy Centerto the Global Times, a newspaper close to the government, the objective would be to “orient consumption expectations” towards less polluting vehicles such as electric ones. A line that has also been taken up by the electric car manufacturer No. In a note to Global Times, said of the tariffs that “this approach hinders rather than promotes global environmental protection, emissions reductions and sustainable development.” The consequences of a countermeasure of this type would be harmful to the European automotive supply chain which has a significant portion of its SUV and supercar clientele in China. According to China Passenger Car Association the EU exports cars with a displacement of more than 2.5 liters for a value of up to 18 billion dollars. In Italy alone, the latest Istat report speaks of a market from 148.8 million euros. Although total exports to Italy fell by 13% in the first four months of 2024, these numbers overall exceed those relating to imports of Chinese electric vehicles into Europe.
other markets
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It’s not just cars that will pay the price of an increasingly difficult climate. Always on Global Times and CCTV there is talk of possible measures on Western exports to China dairy products, alcohol, pork and a particular polymer also used in automotive manufacturing. According to Beijing, the EU is adopting unfair competition practices in all these industries. The object of the investigations would be any state subsidies in the countries of origin which could make the price artificially low. In short, the same EU accusations against Chinese cars.
