EU prepares definitive duties on Chinese EV imports

This draft decision incorporates feedback received on the provisional countervailing duties announced on July 4, 2024, and reflects the conclusions of several investigative steps that were not finalized during the provisional phase.

Releasing the draft definitive findings is an intermediate step in the trade defense investigation, designed to allow interested parties to provide further input, as was done during the provisional stage. After reviewing all comments from interested parties and obtaining opinions from Member States, the Commission will publish the final decision in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Key changes in the draft definitive findings, which may still be modified based on substantiated comments from interested parties, include:

Slight adjustments to the proposed duty rates, reflecting substantiated comments on the provisional measures and the conclusion of unfinished investigative steps:
BYD: 17.0%
Geely: 19.3%
SAIC: 36.3%
Other cooperating companies: 21.3%
All other non-cooperating companies: 36.3%
The decision to grant Tesla an individual duty rate of 9% as an exporter from China.
Allowing several Chinese exporters and certain joint ventures with EU producers that did not export during the investigation period to benefit from the lower duty rate assigned to their related cooperating companies.
The decision not to retroactively collect countervailing duties.
Procedure and Next Steps:

On October 4, 2023, the Commission initiated an ex-officio anti-subsidy investigation on BEV imports from China.
On July 4, 2024, the Commission published the regulation imposing provisional countervailing duties on these imports in the Official Journal of the European Union, which took effect on July 5, 2024.
On August 20, 2024, the Commission disclosed the draft decision to impose definitive countervailing duties, considering all comments received on the provisional measures.
Interested parties can request hearings with the Commission services as soon as possible and must submit any comments within 10 days.

After considering all feedback, the Commission will present the final determination to Member States for a vote under comitology rules, where the decision will be binding unless there is a qualified majority against it.

Definitive measures must be imposed no later than four months after the provisional duties were enacted. The final Commission Implementing Regulation, including the definitive findings, will be published in the Official Journal by October 30, 2024, at the latest, within a maximum of 13 months from the investigation's initiation.

Any resulting measures will remain in effect for five years, with the possibility of extension upon a substantiated request and subsequent review.