Unless there is a diplomatic breakthrough with Beijing, the European Commission has said it plans to introduce provisional duties on Chinese electric car imports from Thursday, July 4.
The criticism came as EU member states debated whether to support the tough measures in a formal vote later this year.
The European Commission last month said it was minded to hit China’s electric car brands with extra tariffs of up to 38pc after an investigation concluded the country’s industry had benefited heavily from “unfair” state support.
On top of the 10pc duties already charged on electric vehicles (EVs) from outside the bloc, the commission proposed an extra duty of 17.4pc on cars made by BYD, 20pc on those made by Volvo owner Geely and 38pc for those of MG owner SAIC.
Other Chinese carmakers face extra duties of 21pc or 38pc, depending on whether they cooperated or refused to cooperate with the EU’s investigation. The commission said Tesla, which makes electric cars in China and exports them to Europe, may get its own individual rate.
Its investigation found “the entire BEV [battery electric vehicle] value chain is heavily subsidised in China, and that imports of Chinese BEVs presented a threat of clearly foreseeable and imminent injury to EU industry”.
EU member states will take an advisory vote on the tariffs in the coming weeks, followed by a formal vote in October.
Ahead of those polls, countries have been wavering over whether to support the extra duties amid a backlash from China – which has threatened to retaliate with tariffs of its own – and warnings from German and its car makers that they will ultimately backfire.
France, Italy and Spain are among countries that have strongly backed the tariffs. Spain’s economy ministry said: “Europe must defend itself if our companies are harmed and do not compete on equal terms.”
But the VDA car lobby group, which represents brands including Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, warned the German automotive industry would end up being hit hardest.
It noted that China was the largest destination for exports from German car makers, adding: “Chinese countermeasures could severely affect the European economy.”
The row came as Germany blocked the sale of a gas turbine business to a Chinese buyer on Wednesday, after the Bundestag invoked national security concerns.
Concerning a deal for MAN Energy Solutions’ unit, Berlin moved to veto the deal in the latest sign of cooling tensions with Beijing.
BMW’s protest comes as European Union lawmakers call on Brussels to weaken a 2035 ban on new petrol car sales, in the latest blow to the bloc’s net zero agenda.
