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On Wednesday, the European Commission unveiled draft measures on all-electric cars imported from China. It would impose significant punitive tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, with different levels of tariffs for each manufacturer. Hungarian Minister for National Economy Márton Nagy released a statement on Wednesday saying that the Hungarian government does not agree with the punitive tariffs.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have also objected to and sharply criticized the EU’s draft tariff on Chinese electric car manufacturers, while promising countermeasures. “Beijing will closely follow the European side’s further action and will take all necessary measures to protect the rights and interests of Chinese companies,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.
The EU’s tariff plan has been criticized by many outside China, with several German carmakers objecting to the plan. In their statements, they said that “protectionism is dangerous” and that “the negative effects of such a decision would outweigh the potential benefits.” Hungarian economy minister Márton Nagy claimed in a ministry statement that
we do not agree with the brutal European punitive tariffs on Chinese electric car manufacturers; excessive protectionism is not the solution.”
The draft would impose an additional 17.4 to 38.1 percent penalty on top of the existing 10 percent tariffs. The punitive duties proposed are not uniform, but vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. This means that the European Commission would be creating a double discrimination system, as the punitive duties are discriminatory not only against China, but also against individual manufacturers. Such a differentiated and highly discriminatory system of punitive tariffs is almost unprecedented in history, reads the ministry’s statement.
Enikő Győri, government party Fidesz MEP, criticized the EU draft measures on X: “Is it really in our interest to provoke a full-scale trade war with China?” she asked.
! @EU_Commission decided to impose duties up to 38,1% on #ChineseEVs. Has the @EU_Commission given a serious consideration to the consequences of its decision? Is it really in our interest to provoke a full-scale trade war with #China?
— Enikő Győri (@GyoriEniko) June 12, 2024
The statement noted that the imposition of punitive tariffs was neither supported by the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), bringing together some 60 industrial and technology companies, including the largest European car manufacturers.
Rather than restricting competition between manufacturers through punitive tariffs, we must support and help to strengthen the competitiveness of the European electric vehicle industry at the global level. Without strong competition there is no strong European Union,”
said Nagy.
The minister underlined that the Hungarian government is developing an EU-level action plan to accelerate the take-up of electric cars and increase competition, which will be presented to Member States at the Competitiveness Council meeting from July 8-9 in the framework of the Hungarian Presidency.
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/BYD