China May Hike Tariffs In Response To EU Actions

With concerns revolving around national security and unfair business practices, the Biden Administration essentially tripled tariffs imposed on Chinese vehicles imported into the U.S. last month, along with raw materials used in the construction of EV batteries sourced from that country. Then, last week, the executive arm of the European Union – the European Commission – announced that it intends to follow suit and also raise tariffs on Chinese vehicles. However, those actions may be met with some retaliation, it seems.

According to Automotive News Europe, Chinese automakers are urging government officials to raise tariffs on European-made vehicles in response to these actions. In a closed-door meeting, those companies “called on the government to adopt firm countermeasures (and) suggested that positive consideration be given to raising the provisional tariff on gasoline cars with large-displacement engines,” according to the report.

The meeting – which was hosted by China’s Ministry of Commerce in Beijing with SAIC, BYD, BMW, Volkswagen Group, and Porsche in attendance – aims to put pressure on the EU to drop its plans to impose provisional actions that will raise tariffs on Chinese EVs from the current rate of 10 percent up to as much as 38 percent. As Ford Authority previously reported, the EU did reach out to Chinese authorities to try and resolve issues between the two sides rather than move forward with that plan, however.

At this time, the BYD Seagull – which retails for less than $10k in China and was specifically highlighted by Ford CEO Jim Farley as a major threat to its business – is slated to launch in Europe next year, though for now at least, BYD doesn’t have plans to market its vehicles in the U.S. Meanwhile, Ford is working on a low-cost EV platform of its own as it scrambles to compete with those cheap rivals.

We’ll have more on these proposed tariff increases soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.