Analysis on e-cars

Punitive tariffs against China: why a trade war is looming

China manufacturer BYD floods the EU with cheap e-cars: now the emergency brake has been applied.(Bild: AFP/APA/STR)

First the USA, now the EU: as if the global economy wasn't already burdened enough by wars and the climate, a trade war with China is looming. This is not good. Trade wars have never led to satisfactory results, but have ultimately also damaged political relations. An analysis.

Such radical actions are actually more familiar from Donald Trump: US President Joe Biden recently blocked electric cars from China from entering the USA with special tariffs of 100 percent (previously 25 percent). The US government also imposed new or significantly increased tariffs on solar cells, semiconductors, port cranes and medical products such as cannulas and protective masks, among other things.

Now the EU Commission is following suit and is introducing provisional punitive tariffs on electric cars produced in China that are imported into Europe. Beijing is paying car manufacturers unfair subsidies and thus distorting competition, according to the Brussels authority.

The hefty punitive tariffs amount to between 17.4 and 37.6 percent depending on the manufacturer and are in addition to existing import duties of ten percent for electric cars. The EU member states must now decide within four months whether the measures will be definitively introduced. They would then apply for five years.