What do we do with the Chinese, tax them on electric cars or not, who knows! Some yes, some no. As usual, there is a nice little theatre going on in the INTA committee of the European Parliament

The European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) broadly supports the European Commission’s investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, with the clear exception of the ‘Patriots for Europe’ (PfE) Group, the third largest force in Parliament, which is opposed to customs barriers. The INTA Committee debated the issue on Monday 30 September, while the Member States could vote on the tariffs on Friday 4 October, according to several media reports.  

For the coordinators of the two largest groups in Parliament, Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Swedish) and Brando Benifei (S&D, Spanish), the European Commission absolutely must continue negotiations on an alternative solution to tariffs. “Defence trade instruments should only come into effects as a last resort and should not risk harming our own industry”, stressed Jörgen Warborn.

The EPP, S&D, ECR, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left have all spoken out in favour of tariffs.

The coordinator of Renew Europe, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (French), regretted that some elected representatives were criticising its use: “Everyone says we need fair and equal competition. And then we wouldn’t be supporting the European Commission?” She described the Commission’s investigation and findings as “proportionate”.

“The Commission must remain firm, and the Member States must not give in to Chinese blackmail”, added her compatriot Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D).

Within the PfE Group, the tone is different, with the feeling that tariffs would only harm European manufacturers. “This is not in the interests of the European automotive sector. We initially wanted to protect the sector, but it doesn’t want that. It fears retaliation. Nor am I convinced that this is in the interests of consumers, as they want access to cheaper products”, said Enikő Győri (PfE, Hungarian).

Some more nuanced voices, from the S&D and EPP Groups, have expressed doubts about the additional customs duties, fearing a trade war and excessive repercussions for the European agri-food sector, as China has launched several anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigations into European agricultural products since January.

“The agri-food sector is often the first victim of trade wars. We must work towards an agreement and avoid that there are victims”, argued Cristina Maestre (S&D, Spanish).

The head of the European Commission’s trade defence unit, Martin Lukas, pointed out that discussions were continuing intensively between the EU and China, and that they could continue even after tariffs had been imposed.

Negotiators are currently examining the “price undertaking offers” that Chinese companies would apply in order not to export the targeted electric vehicles to the EU below a certain price.