The European Commission announced a definitive countervailing duty on imports of new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China. This decision was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) as the Commission Implementing Regulation 2024/2754 On 29 October 2024.
The regulation targets BEVs designed explicitly for passenger transport to address trade imbalances.
On 4 October 2023, the European Commission (‘the Commission’) initiated an anti-subsidy investigation into imports into the Union of new battery electric vehicles (‘BEVs’) designed for the transport of persons originating in China under Article 10(8) of the basic Regulation. It published a Notice of Initiation in the Official Journal of the European Union (‘the Notice of Initiation’).
The Commission initiated the investigation on the grounds that imports of BEVs originating in the PRC are being subsidised and are thereby causing injury (3) to the Union industry.
After an in-depth analysis of recent market developments and considering the sensitivity of the electric vehicle sector and its strategic importance to the EU economy in terms of innovation, value added and employment, the Commission collected market information from various independent sources. This information tended to show the existence of subsidisation by the PRC which negatively affects the situation of the Union BEV industry.
On the basis of readily available information, there was sufficient evidence demonstrating that imports of the BEVs originating in the PRC benefit from countervailable subsidies provided by the Government of the People’s Republic of China (“the GOC”). Those subsidies have allowed the subsidised imports to rapidly increase their market share in the Union to the detriment of the Union industry.
As a result, the Regulation imposes definitive countervailing duties ranging from 17% to 35.3%, varying by exporter. These measures aim to restore fair competition in the market and protect the EU BEVs industry from further harm.
The Regulation took effect on 30 October 2024 and applies to all Member States.
