Earlier in June, following months of investigation, the European Commission announced new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) in response to massive state subsidies in the forms of research and development grants, sales tax exemptions and supply chain support being provided to Chinese EV makers by Beijing.
A recent investigation by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank revealed that between 2009 and 2023, the Chinese government is conservatively estimated to have spent over $230 billion US dollars on financial support for its EV makers. This excludes supply chain support, one example of which indicates close to one billion US dollars were supplied to battery giant CATL alone, which last year supplied over 36 per cent of battery packs in new EVs globally.
Although countries such as the US and Turkey have already introduced tariffs on Chinese EVs, support among EU states for this move has been divided.
The EU's provisional duties (which have been revised slightly since our interview) are set to apply by July 4th, 2024, with the investigation set to continue until November 2nd when finalized duties could be imposed for up to five years.
In this episode, we welcome back Swedish journalist Jojje Olsson (@jojjeols) who shares his insights on the EV tariffs and the reactions within the EU. We discuss how Beijing is already finding ways to circumvent the tariffs, and we also examine how China's ongoing support for Russia in the Ukraine war is impacting EU decision making, and much more.
Date of Recording: June 18th, 2024.
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| Car Transporter leaves port after offloading its cargo on the dock |
Photo Credit: CleanTechnica
DIVE DEEPER:
Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:
- Kinamedia.se - Sweden's biggest news site on China
- Kinamedia Podcast (in Swedish)
- China's role in the election campaign for the European Parliament elections - Marcus Bjork, Kinamedia (June 8th, 2024) - Use Google Translate
- The Chinese EV Dilemma: Subsidized Yet Striking - Scott Kennedy, CSIS (June 20th, 2024)
- EU shocks China with EV duties of up to 38 percent - Koen Verhelst et al, Politico (June 12th, 2024)
- Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on June 13th, 2024 [CCP's Response to EU Tariffs]
- China's EV Makers Saw Europe Tariffs Coming, and Many Already Have a Plan - Selina Cheng, WSJ (June 13th, 2024)
- After Russia, Europe must wake up to China too - Paul Mason, Social Europe (June 17th, 2024)
- China and EU agree to talks on planned electric vehicle tariffs - Reuters, South China Morning Post (June 23rd, 2024)
- EU revises tariff rates set to hit EVs from China - Irish Examiner (June 26th, 2024)
- China's EV architect says investing in Europe is a way forward - Evelyn Cheng, CNBC (June 26th, 2024)
- Staggering scale of Chinese government EV subsidies revealed - Jordan Mulach, CarExpert (June 28th, 2024)
- China launches anti-dumping investigation into EU pork imports - Al Jazeera (June 17th, 2024)
- Zelensky says China's 'support to Russia' will extend war in Ukraine during surprise appearance in Asia - Brad Lendon, Ivan Watson, Simone McCarthy, CNN (June 3rd, 2024)
- In slamming China over its stance on Russia and the war, Ukraine might have made a big miscalculation - Holly Ellyatt, CNBC (June 6th, 2024)
- Putin's visit to China a sign of Beijing's parallel world order - Jojje Olsson, Kinamedia (May 19th, 2024) - Use Google Translate
- Views of China - Laura Silver, Christine Huang and Laura Clancy, Pew Research Center (July 27th, 2023)
- Sweden's PM: Europe needs to talk China, defense spending to keep US support on Ukraine - Stuart Lau, Politico (March 11th, 2024)
