EU Punitive Tariffs on Chinese EVs a Threat to Competitiveness, Minister Warns

The European Commission has dealt a new blow to the competitiveness of the continent with the imposition of punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, and the measure does not serve the interests of European countries or companies, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Thursday.

The minister wrote on Facebook that the European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, had dealt another blow to the continent’s competitiveness by imposing extra tariffs on Chinese electric car industry players, ignoring the views of member states and the largest European companies in the sector.

“It is a legitimate question:

whose interests are served by all this? Certainly not the EU countries, because only 10 out of 27 voted for it.

Nor for the European car manufacturers: the biggest players in the car industry are protesting against the measure, because it is difficult to imagine the success of the European electromobility strategy without cooperation with Chinese suppliers,” the politician detailed. “Thus, if the measure is not in the interest of European countries or car manufacturers, why are they taking it? To harm, as they have been harming for five years,” he added.

Minister Szijjártó also pointed out that the past five years have made the EU less secure, less competitive and less politically powerful than in 2019. “The President of the Commission bears a clear responsibility for dragging Europe into a losing war, for the EU’s diminished importance in the world economy and in world politics,” he underlined.

! @EU_Commission decided to impose duties up to 38,1% on #ChineseEVs. Has the @EU_Commission given a serious consideration to the consequences of its decision? Is it really in our interest to provoke a full-scale trade war with #China?

— Enikő Győri (@GyoriEniko) June 12, 2024

The European Commission had imposed the additional tariffs on electric cars from China the day before. The measure, which was voted on October 4 by a council of member state governments, came into force on Thursday. The bill imposes an additional 17.4 to 38.1 percent penalty on top of the existing 10 percent tariffs. The punitive duties proposed are not uniform, but vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. This means that the European Commission is creating a double discrimination system, as the punitive duties are discriminatory not only against China, but also against individual manufacturers.

Hungary to Vote against EU Punitive Tariffs on Chinese Cars