The EU plans to vote on Oct. 4 on whether to impose tariffs as high as 45% on imported electric vehicles (EVs) from China, but the decision has been slightly delayed amid last-minute negotiations between the two sides to try to find a resolution that would avoid the new levies, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 28. The member states have received a draft of the regulation for the proposed measures, and the new date could still change, it said. The initial date for the vote was reportedly planned for Sept. 25.
The vote would pave the way for new duties as high as about 35% to kick in from November for five years unless a qualified majority—15 member states representing 65% of the bloc’s population—opposes the move. The new tariffs would be on top of the existing 10% rate, it said.
China’s Global Times daily quotes Chinese European expert Cui Hongjian that the delay, “reflects the divergent attitudes of EU member states toward protectionist trade measures, as these tendencies could harm the economic interests of many EU countries and the open and cooperative trade relations established with China over the year.”
