TapTechNews August 21st news, on August 20th, the European Union officially disclosed the draft decision to levy the final countervailing duty on pure electric vehicles imported from China, imposing a final countervailing duty of 9% to 36.3%, and the final ruling will be made by November 4th.
Regarding this draft, as reported by CCTV News on the evening of August 20th, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce responded by saying:
The Chinese side has repeatedly pointed out that the European side's anti-subsidy investigation on Chinese electric vehicles presupposes a conclusion, and the practices in all links of the investigation violate the principle of 'objective, fair, non-discriminatory, and transparent' promised by it, and also does not conform to the rules of the WTO. It is in fact practicing 'unfair competition' in the name of 'fair competition'.
In the process of this investigation, the Chinese government and the Chinese industry have provided tens of thousands of pages of legal documents and evidentiary materials through various means such as submitting questionnaires, written comments, and presenting opinions at hearings, comprehensively and deeply defending against the unreasonable and non-compliant practices of the European side, and pointing out that the European side's restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles will disrupt the stability of the global automotive industry chain and supply chain including the European Union, harm the interests of EU consumers, and undermine the overall situation of the EU's own green transformation and global cooperation in addressing climate change.
The final ruling disclosure announced by the European side this time has not fully absorbed the opinions of the Chinese side, still adheres to the wrong practice, determines a high tax rate, and also uses sampling to treat different types of Chinese enterprises differently, distorting the investigation results. This final ruling disclosure is based on the 'facts' unilaterally determined by the European side, rather than the facts mutually recognized by both sides. The Chinese side firmly opposes and is highly concerned about this.
Since the end of June, the Chinese and European sides have carried out more than ten rounds of technical consultations based on facts and rules regarding this case. The Chinese side has always been committed with the greatest sincerity to properly handling trade disputes with the European side through dialogue and consultation, and hopes that the European side will earnestly move in the same direction as the Chinese side, accelerate the exploration of proper solutions with a rational and practical attitude, and use practical actions to avoid the escalation of trade frictions. The Chinese side will take all necessary measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
According to TapTechNews' previous report, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also issued a document today stating that the arbitration information of the European Commission seriously distorts the facts of the Chinese electric vehicle industry, and the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers represents the Chinese automobile industry to express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition.