China autos group ‘strongly dissatisfied’ with EU anti-subsidy tariffs

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) – The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) is “strongly dissatisfied” with anti-subsidy tariffs proposed by the European Union, the industry group said in a statement on Saturday.

Manufacturers had cooperated with the European Commission’s investigation into Chinese subsidies, but the inquiry had ignored the facts and preselected results, CAAM said in a post on the Chinese messaging app WeChat.

The EU imposed tariffs of up to 37.6% on imports of electric vehicles made in China from Friday, with a four-month window during which the tariffs are provisional with intensive talks expected between the two sides.

“CAAM deeply regrets this and holds it firmly unacceptable,” it said.

The provisional duties of between 17.4% and 37.6% without backdating are designed to prevent what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said is a threatened flood of cheap Chinese electric vehicles built with state subsidies.

The EU anti-subsidy investigation has nearly four months to run.