At 10:00 a.m. on October 4, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium, the Trade Defence Instruments Committee (TDI Committee) of the European Commission held a meeting. Representatives of EU member states voted on the final ruling proposal of the anti - subsidy investigation on China. The focus of this proposal was whether to impose high - value anti - subsidy duties on electric vehicles originating from China for a period of five years.

After about an hour of voting, the results were announced: 10 member states supported, 5 member states opposed, and 12 member states abstained. According to the EUs voting rules, abstention votes are regarded as approval votes, which means that the European Commission has obtained sufficient support to implement anti - subsidy measures on Chinese electric vehicles.

Voting Results and Member States Positions

The specific voting situation is as follows:

• Opposed (5 countries): Germany, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia.
• Abstained (12 countries): Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Finland.
• Supported (10 countries): Italy, France, Netherlands, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Ireland.

In terms of the population proportion, the population of the countries that voted against accounts for 22.65% of the total EU population, the population of the abstaining countries accounts for 31.36%, and the population of the supporting countries accounts for 45.99%. According to EU regulations, to block the implementation of tariffs, at least 15 member states representing more than 65% of the EUs population need to vote against. Therefore, the voting result enables the European Commission to advance the plan to impose anti - subsidy duties on Chinese electric vehicles.

Statement and Next Steps of the European Commission

After the meeting, the European Commission issued an announcement saying that the final ruling draft has obtained the necessary support. At the same time, the EU said it will continue to explore other solutions with China, but these solutions must comply with the regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and fully address the harmful subsidies identified in the investigation. The European Commission also said that it will publish the implementing regulations containing the final investigation results by October 30, 2024 at the latest.

Previously, the European Commission had announced the specific tax rate plan to be imposed. On the basis of the existing 10% tariff, an anti - subsidy duty will be added to electric vehicles imported from China:

• Tesla: 7.8%
• BYD: 17%
• Geely Automobile: 18.8%
• Other companies that cooperated with the investigation: 20.7%
• SAIC Group and companies that did not cooperate with the investigation: 35.3%

China Strongly Opposes and Calls for a Suspension of Taxation

Regarding the voting result, both the Ministry of Commerce of China and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China expressed firm opposition and dissatisfaction. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China called on the EU to suspend the implementation of high - value anti - subsidy duties, hoping that the EU side would show the willingness to resolve the issue through dialogue and avoid the escalation of trade frictions. The chamber pointed out that suspending taxation would leave more time and space for the two sides to negotiate a price undertaking agreement.

According to the understanding of the chamber, Article 24(4) of the EU anti - subsidy regulations stipulates that when market conditions change temporarily and the suspension of measures will not lead to the recurrence of damage, the European Commission may suspend anti - subsidy measures. Based on this, the chamber believes that the EU has a legal basis to suspend taxation.

Changes and Considerations of Member States Positions

Before the vote, the positions of some member states changed. Sweden, which originally planned to vote against, finally chose to abstain. According to Reuters, Swedish Minister Benjamin Dussa said that the reason for changing the position was that the European Commission communicated with Sweden and sent a signal of special arrangements for the Swedish automotive industry and Volvo Cars. Volvo Cars may obtain a separate tariff agreement through negotiation.foreign tradeSpain also changed its vote from opposition to abstention. Carlos Theurer, the Spanish Minister of Economy, wrote to Valdis Dombrovskis, the Vice - President of the European Commission, before the vote, saying that the EU should not impose tariffs but should keep the negotiation open to reach agreements on prices and the transfer of battery production to the EU. He emphasized that as the second - largest automotive producer in the EU, Spain needs to strike an appropriate balance between technology and politics, defending industrial interests while avoiding large - scale confrontation with strategic partners such as China.

Germany and Hungary Firmly Oppose

As the largest economy in the EU, Germany firmly voted against. The day before the vote, the German important trade union IG Metall and the employee representatives of major automakers issued a statement urging the German government to oppose the increase of tariffs. They believed that imposing high - value tariffs could trigger trade frictions and harm the interests of the German automotive industry.

On the day of the vote, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán criticized the EUs economic strategy in an interview with the national radio, calling it an economic cold war. He said that Hungary hopes to avoid taking sides between China and Europe and try to maintain trade relations with both sides.

Potential Impacts and Future Outlook

The EUs decision to impose anti - subsidy duties on Chinese electric vehicles is expected to have a profound impact on the electric vehicle industry chains of China and Europe and their future economic and trade relations. High - value tariffs may increase the prices of Chinese electric vehicles in the European market and weaken their competitiveness. At the same time, it may also trigger counter - measures from China, affecting the market share of European companies in China.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China called on the EU to start from the perspectives of safeguarding multilateralism and achieving green development, find constructive solutions through dialogue and consultation, and create more opportunities for China - EU cooperation in the green transformation. Suspending taxation will help avoid the escalation of trade frictions and provide time for the two sides to reach a price undertaking agreement.

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