Chinese EV makers file challenges to tariffs at EU court

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Chinese electric vehicle makers BYD (SZ:), Geely and SAIC have challenged the EU’s import tariffs at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), filings on the court’s website showed on Thursday.

The EU imposed tariffs on China-made EVs at the end of October after an anti-subsidy investigation, including 17.0% for BYD, 18.8% for Geely and 35.3% for SAIC, on top of the EU’s standard car import duty of 10%.

Court filings show all three lodged their complaints at the General Court, the lower of two CJEU chambers, on Tuesday, a day before the deadline for filing challenges. Proceedings at the General Court last on average 18 months and can be appealed.

No further details of the cases were given.

The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), an industry body that has represented Chinese EV producers, also filed a complaint on Wednesday, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) said.

The CCCEU urged Beijing and Brussels to negotiate a compromise to avoid tariffs. The two have been in talks about possible minimum price commitments since September.

In a statement on Friday, the CCCME confirmed its action on behalf of “authorised companies” and pledged to “continue to represent China’s EV industry through judicial litigation and resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese EV companies.”

The European Commission said it was aware of the cases and had two months and 10 days to prepare its defence, adding that technical contact with Beijing was continuing.

It is not clear if there have also been challenges from other EV makers, including European firms producing in China.

The challenges are likely to include arguments over the assessment of subsidies, the establishment of injury to EU industry and the Commission’s unusual decision to launch a case on its own, rather than following an industry complaint.

SAIC is expected to take issue with its far higher tariff. This followed a determination that it did not cooperate with the investigation, allowing the Commission to fill in missing sections with selected available facts.

China-based EV makers have also complained that Tesla (NASDAQ:), the largest exporter of EVs from China into the EU, was not included in the official sample, from which the rate for other companies is calculated. The sampled companies were BYD, Geely and SAIC.

Tesla secured the lowest extra tariff of 7.8%. If it had been part of the sample, cooperating companies would have benefited from a lower tariff than the 20.7% they now face.