This is a brake on Chinese electric cars which could well turn into a road trip for French agriculture. This Friday morning, member countries of the European Union authorized the increase in customs duties for electric cars imported from China. By the end of October, the European Commission should therefore add, to the 10% customs duties currently in force, a surcharge of up to 36%. Brussels accuses Chinese manufacturers of having benefited from massive public subsidies to flood the European market, thus undermining a sector which employs 14 million people in Europe.
Only five countries opposed the text. Including Germany, which fears a trade war with Beijing. “China firmly opposes the EU’s unfair, non-compliant and unreasonable protectionist practices,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded immediately.