In a closed-door meeting yesterday also attended by European automakers, Chinese car companies and industry groups suggested authorities hike tariffs on large gasoline-powered vehicles imported from the European Union.
EU trade policy is turning increasingly protective owing to concerns China’s production-focused, debt-driven development model could see the 27-member bloc flooded with cheap goods, including EVs, as Chinese firms look overseas due to weak domestic demand. The European Commission’s June 12 announcement that it would impose anti-subsidy duties of up to 38.1 per cent on imported Chinese EVs from July follows the United States hiking tariffs on Chinese cars in May, and opens a new front in the West’s trade war with Beijing, which began with Washington’s initial import tariffs in 2018.