China's trade promotion body strongly opposes EU's plan to add EV duties

China's trade promotion body has expressed strong opposition to the plan of the European Union (EU) to add duties on imports of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), describing it as "notably unfair" and "typical double standards."

The European Commission (EC) on June 12 proposed the provisional additional tariffs ranging from 17.4 to 38.1 percent in its preliminary ruling on anti-subsidy probe into Chinese EVs.

A spokesperson with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade said June 13 the EC persisted in imposing the tariffs in disregard of the fact that the European EV industry actually came to no harm, did not ask for any investigation, and has even repeatedly voiced objections.

The investigation blatantly violated rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as its unfair procedure prevented the participation of Chinese carmakers, the spokesperson said, adding that Chinese industries and businesses would defend their legal rights under WTO regulations.

The spokesperson accused the EU of having double standards as it has provided substantial subsidies to its own EV and battery industries.

Moreover, China's EV industry, deeply integrated into the global supply chain, has contributed significantly to the world's EV development, carbon emission reduction and green development through international cooperation and technological innovation, the spokesperson said.

The EC's abuse of WTO trade remedy rules undermined market principles and disrupted global supply chain stability and security, the spokesperson said.

While urging the cancellation of the anti-subsidy tariff measures, the spokesperson highlighted the vast potential for China-EU cooperation in the EV industry and called for dialogues to resolve disputes, win-win cooperation to reduce emissions, and integrated development to achieve green goals.