Chinese rail company CRRC withdraws bid from Bulgarian public tender amid EU inquiry
- The European Union’s investigation was the first use of a foreign subsidies regulation designed to stop state handouts from distorting the bloc’s single market
- CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive’s bid to provide and maintain 20 electric trains was reported to be around half that of a Spanish competitor
A Chinese train maker has withdrawn from a public tender in Bulgaria after the European Union launched an investigation into a bid it said was undercutting local firms.
The inquiry, announced last month, was the first of its kind and marked the maiden use of a foreign subsidies regulation designed to stop state handouts from distorting the EU’s single market.
CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive Co, a division of state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Corporation, had hoped to provide 20 electric push-pull trains and their maintenance.
Its bid was reported to be around half that of a Spanish competitor, with the European Commission announcing that the Chinese company had withdrawn its bid on Tuesday evening. Brussels had alleged that CRRC had received almost US$2 billion in state subsidies.
“In just a few weeks, our first investigation under the foreign subsidies regulation has already yielded results,” said Thierry Breton, the commissioner for internal market of the European Union.