Chinese car manufacturers are advocating for Beijing to impose tariffs of up to 25% on European Union vehicles, as reported by state media. This demand was made during a closed-door meeting organized by China’s Ministry of Commerce, which included representatives from European car firms.
The proposed measures specifically target EU cars equipped with large petrol engines. This development comes shortly after the EU threatened Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers with tariffs reaching 38% starting July 4th.
The meeting in Beijing involved four Chinese and six European car companies, according to a report published on a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV. While German automaker Volkswagen confirmed its participation, it declined to disclose details of the discussions. Porsche and BMW either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comments from the BBC.
According to the report, Chinese car companies have urged the government to implement robust countermeasures against the EU. They propose applying higher provisional tariffs, compliant with World Trade Organization rules, on large-displacement petrol vehicles imported from Europe.
This stance aligns with a previous article by the state-run Global Times suggesting a 25% tariff on cars with petrol engines exceeding 2.5 litres, particularly targeting “luxury or ultra-luxury” vehicles. Bill Russo, from Automobility advisory firm, noted that such tariffs are unlikely to significantly affect sales volumes.
The EU’s European Commission recently announced provisional conclusions indicating that Chinese EV manufacturers could face tariffs if negotiations with Chinese authorities do not yield a satisfactory resolution. Companies cooperating with the investigation could face duties averaging 21%, whereas non-cooperating firms might see tariffs as high as 38.1%.
These tariffs would supplement the existing 10% tariff on all electric cars produced in China. The EU’s actions follow a similar move by the US, which recently raised tariffs on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100%.
China has condemned these decisions as protectionist and has responded with retaliatory measures, including investigations into European pork imports and earlier probes into EU and US chemical imports.
