European Union Will Investigate Chinese Subsidies of Electric Cars

The European Union will start an investigation into Chinese subsidies of electrical automobiles, the bloc’s high official introduced Wednesday, in a transfer that highlights Europe’s rising industrial and geopolitical competitors with China.

Chinese automakers have gained a dominant place on the planet’s electrical automobiles business and see Europe as a giant potential market. Automakers in Europe, who’re racing to develop their battery-powered lineups, have expressed concern that they face powerful competitors in opposition to low-priced fashions from China.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, introduced the initiative throughout her annual state of the European Union deal with, which units the tone for the yr forward. The inquiry might result in commerce restrictions equivalent to tariffs on Chinese automobiles.

“Europe is open for competition, not for a race to the bottom,” Ms. von der Leyen stated, talking in Strasbourg, France.

Ms. von der Leyen stated that the electrical automobiles sector “is a crucial industry for the clean economy, with huge potential for Europe.”

“But global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars and their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies. This is distorting our market,” she stated.

Despite longstanding and deep financial ties between Europe and China, political and diplomatic ties between the 2 sides have deteriorated due to China’s help of Russia regardless of the invasion of Ukraine.

A flurry of diplomatic visits this yr has underscored that European Union members don’t have a transparent united coverage on China. Ms. von der Leyen has been pushing for the idea of “de-risking” the Europe-China relationship by turning into much less economically depending on Beijing, relatively than severing ties.

The inquiry could be a part of a European Union push in opposition to what it calls anti-competitive habits by China throttling European companies, together with in innovation and manufacturing, costing Europe jobs and income.

“Many young businesses were pushed out by heavily subsidized Chinese competitors. Pioneering companies had to file for bankruptcy,” Ms. von der Leyen stated.

Trying to maintain China at bay is of important strategic significance, Ms. von der Leyen stated, together with in world provide chains for key elements to make items like semiconductors and photo voltaic panels.