EU and China set guidance for voluntary limits on Chinese electric-car imports

The European Commission and China’s Ministry of Commerce on Monday issued guidance that could let some electric vehicles imported from China avoid Europe’s anti-subsidy tariffs if automakers volunteer limits on shipments and set minimum prices. The arrangement could notably affect Volkswagen’s Cupra Tavascan, the commission said.

The commission said it was establishing a procedure for carmakers to offer limits on the number of EVs they ship from China to Europe and to set minimum selling prices. Automakers that make such undertakings could be exempted from anti-subsidy duties of up to 35 percent that Brussels imposed in late 2024.

Volkswagen last month offered to limit shipments to Europe of Cupra electric cars from its Hefei factory and to set an undisclosed minimum price, and asked the commission to stop collecting a 20.7 percent anti-subsidy tariff on the Cupra. "We have said from the start... that we’re willing to look at alternatives to the anti-subsidy duties we put in place," the commission spokesman Olof Gill said, adding the guidance was issued because "the first meaningful offer on a price undertaking came" in December.

Any exemption would still require separate approval by the European Commission and EU member countries, a process that could be lengthy.

Key Topics

Business, Volkswagen, Cupra Tavascan, China, European Commission, Anti-subsidy Duties