Japan's Position on Tariffs for Chinese Electric Vehicles Differs from Europe and America

TapTechNews June 17 news, according to Nikkei report today, recently Europe proposed to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, while Japan will "keep a distance" from the attitude of European, American countries and regions, and explore the path not relying on specific countries in the advanced energy field.

The report points out that Japan's position is different from that of Europe and America, which take a "harsh" attitude towards Chinese electric vehicles. Currently, the ratio of electric vehicles in new car sales in Japan is only about 2 percent, and an official of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that currently "it is not yet" to the extent of complaining about the loss of domestic industries.

Another official of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry claimed that Japan "cannot turn a blind eye to China's 'excess capacity'". In the field of renewable energy such as solar and wind power, which is indispensable for decarbonization, there may be a situation of intertwined interests.

Naotaka Sono, a senior economist at PwC consulting, said, "Increasing tariffs is prone to retaliation from the other country, which leads to an escalation of the situation. In order to protect Japanese industries, there is doubt whether increasing tariffs is correct.". The report also said that China and Japan are geographically close, from large enterprises to small and medium-sized enterprises, there are many transactions between the two sides, and as a trading partner, it cannot be ignored, so it is "difficult to adopt" trade measures such as tariffs.

According to TapTechNews' previous report, data from the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs of South Korea showed that the penetration rate of Chinese electric vehicles in 2023 is 22.2%, that of South Korea is 9.3%, that of the United States is 7.2%, and that of Japan is 2.9%.