EU set to push decision on blockbuster Chinese EV probe until after June elections, reports say
- Delay in tariff decision is reportedly to keep the politically freighted issue off the campaign trail
- The probe is ongoing and likely to result in higher import duties on EVs coming to European ports from China
The EU will delay a decision on whether to slap countervailing duties on Chinese-made EVs until after European elections that are scheduled for next month, reportedly to keep the politically freighted issue off the campaign trail.
It had been anticipated that the European Commission would pre-notify the companies involved and the EU’s 27 member states about the decision on June 5, nine months after an investigation into subsidies in China’s electric vehicle sector kicked off.
According to German magazine Spiegel, and some trade publications, the transmission will now take place on June 10, the day the results of the European Parliament’s elections are announced. This is to “keep the issue out of a heated election campaign”, the magazine reported.
A spokesperson for the commission’s department of trade said no political decision had been taken on when duties would be announced, should they be provisionally adopted.
09:45
How do France’s ambitions as a global leader figure in China-US relations?
The probe is ongoing and likely to result in higher import duties on EVs coming to European ports from China.
The June 5 deadline had been widely reported and is based on a nine-month time period since European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the inquiry last October. Disclosure by that date is understood to be more about procedural courtesy than legal obligation.