The EU has taken another shot at Chinese enterprises, China's Ministry of Commerce has taken decisive countermeasures, Poland and Hungary have supported China, and the EU has been in turmoil, and in the last 6 days, will the EU turn back?
Since the European Commission announced a tax hike on China's electric vehicles, the EU member states represented by Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Slovakia immediately expressed their opposition, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and other major European car companies spoke out overnight, accusing the EU of this move does not help protect local car companies, as the EU presidency in the second half of this year and the first half of next year, Hungary is in direct dialogue with Poland to China, strongly opposing the EU's approach. According to the European Union, it is currently in dialogue with the relevant Chinese departments to seek a solution, if the communication is fruitless, July 4 will be formally imposed this temporary tariff, the final measures will be determined before November 3 this year, when there are 15 EU member states voted against, and the population accounts for more than 65% of the total population of the European Union, it is possible to cancel the "final decision", the current 6-day deadline is approaching, how Europe will make decisions is concerning.
It is ironic that the EU is raising the banner of climate protection while attacking Chinese electric vehicles that can help reduce carbon emissions, further highlighting the "double standard" of the West. The reason for the so-called "de-risking" is the same as the "overcapacity theory" of the United States, which is just a discourse trap, and the biggest motive is to achieve the political goal of curbing China's industrial development. Before the European Commission raised taxes on Chinese electric vehicles, the United States had taken the lead in raising taxes on Chinese cars, with a tax rate as high as 100%, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen also publicly called on the West at the G7 Finance Ministers' Meeting to jointly "oppose China".
According to the data, the EU has been China's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, and the bilateral investment stock between China and the EU will exceed 250 billion euros in 2023, with a total trade volume of 783 billion US dollars. In the field of electric vehicles, China's vehicle exports in 2023 will be 4.91 million units, a year-on-year increase of 57.9%, surpassing Japan for the first time to rank first in the world, of which new energy vehicle exports will be 1.203 million units, a year-on-year increase of 77.6%. Europe is the main destination for China's electric vehicle exports, and if the EU raises taxes on Chinese cars, it will directly increase the cost of Chinese cars exported to Europe and lose its price advantage. On June 27, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce launched a second wave of countermeasures, announcing that the anti-dumping measures applicable to the EU's imports of toluidine would be reviewed and investigated, during which anti-dumping duties would continue to be levied. The European Union has not repented and recently sanctioned 19 Chinese companies.
According to this trend, the Sino-European trade conflict will be inevitable, and China's sanctions in pork, toluidine and other fields are just the beginning, and the later stage does not rule out the launch of reciprocal countermeasures against European automobiles and even other industries, and the EU countries will suffer the most. Recently, Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó called Foreign Minister Wang Yi, saying that the development of cooperation with China will be an important goal during Hungary's presidency of the European Union, and Polish President Duda said during his visit to China that Poland is willing to cooperate with China in the fields of new energy and electric vehicles, and provide preferential policies and tax exemptions for Chinese enterprises. Recently, Italian Prime Minister Meloni "bombarded" European Commission President von der Leyen and openly opposed the latter's re-election.
It is not difficult to see that the EU is no longer monolithic, and under the opposition of Germany, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and other countries, the EU can only maintain the fragile unity of the EU by reducing taxes on Chinese cars, rather than catering to the US strategy and bringing Europe to the abyss. Before July 4, if the European Commission does not change, I believe China is also ready accordingly.