China’s Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday said it would “take all necessary measures to resolutely defend” its native companies from tariffs imposed by the European Union. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
The Chinese government said on Wednesday that it would take “all necessary measures” to defend itself against European Union tariffs against its electric vehicle industry that were proposed earlier this week.
A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce charged that the European Union had come to “pre-set conclusions” over its electric vehicle businesses. Advertisement
It tried to turn around the argument that it was the EU that was promoting unfair trade competition. The EU has long claimed that deep Chinese government subsidies made for an unfair trading field with its member states.
“China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” the spokesman said. “China firmly opposes and is highly concerned about this.”
In the EU’s proposed tariffs, it lowered some of the duties, including from companies that had partnerships with Western companies like Tesla, which would be hit with a 9% tariff. BYD would face a 17% tariff. Others would be hit with tariffs as high as 36.3%
The Chinese government on Wednesday launched its own anti-subsidy investigation on European dairy exports, which would cover nearly all shipments from April 2023 to March. Advertisement
Products covered include fresh cheese and curd, processed cheese, blue cheese, milk, and cream. In the past, China had placed subsidies on pork and brandy from EU countries.
