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«——【Preamble】】 ——»
["Unauthorized transportation is prohibited, and offenders will be prosecuted"]
It is not long before the EU officially implements tariffs on electric vehicles in China, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has proposed a new plan for Sino-EU trade, hoping that both sides will take a step back.
Recently, a source revealed to the American media Bloomberg that the European Union has slightly lowered its temporary tariffs on China, SAIC MG will be reduced from 38.1% to 37.6%, and Geely Automobile's previous 20% tax rate has only been reduced by 0.1% this time.
The tax on other automakers that cooperated with the survey but have not yet been sampled was reduced from 21% to 20.8%, and the tax rate on automakers that did not cooperate with the survey at all was reduced from 38.1% to 37.6%.
To be honest, the reduction in the tax ratio cannot be said to be dispensable, at least it is minimal.
But let's not forget that these taxes are imposed, and there is a base tariff of 10%, which means that even if the EU fine-tunes it, the tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles can still reach a maximum of 47.6%.
The EU electric vehicle market is far from being comparable to that of the United States, and the White House's imposition of a maximum of 100% tariffs on electric vehicles on China is more symbolic than practical.
Therefore, in the context of the rapid expansion of the EU electric vehicle market and the increasing demand, the European Commission has introduced punitive and discriminatory policies on the grounds of colossalization, which has caused widespread concern within the EU, and the public is worried that it will become a landmark event that will set off the EU-China trade war.
However, the tax rate cut has given a glimmer of hope to the opposition in the EU, and from another point of view, the European Commission has indeed loosened up.
At present, the most opposed to the introduction of this tariff policy in the EU is undoubtedly the German government and various EU car companies, the German side has sent senior officials to visit China twice in a row just to persuade China not to restrict Sino-German trade, although Chancellor Scholz did not appear directly in China, but also found another way, shouting from the air that the EU and China should implement unified tariffs.
According to a report by the German Chinese Network on June 29, Scholz expressed strong dissatisfaction with the EU's trade policy in the Bundestag, and suggested that both the EU and China implement a 15% tariff policy, of course, only for imported cars on both sides.
This proposal seems plausible, and although 15% is higher than the base tariff of 10%, it is indeed much lower than the punitive tariffs that were added subsequently.
Scholz hopes that both sides will take a step back, but will not return to the original tariff level, which is equivalent to giving each other steps.
This proposal has caused considerable controversy within the EU, because no matter how strong the voices of German political and business circles protest against China's electric vehicle tariffs, it cannot be denied that promoting the implementation of punitive policies against China is still the mainstream position of the EU.
But Scholz's suggestion obviously did not directly hit the pain point, the EU's punitive tariffs on China are essentially aimed at suppressing China's electric vehicles and even China's economic development, and under this premise, the political significance is far greater than the economic income brought by the tariffs.
What about lowering the tax rate? As long as the EU wants to engage in Chinese cars or other imported products, they can still fabricate some other trumped-up charges like the so-called "countervailing investigation" this time.
To put it bluntly, if the wind of trade protectionism in the United States and Europe does not change, the discriminatory and punitive measures against China and other competitors will only gradually increase.
In addition, the EU has recently been exposed to the "countervailing investigation" in the name of cooperating with the investigation, intensively collecting the trade secrets of Chinese car companies, including but not limited to production planning, technical processes, product formulas, and even requiring car companies to provide detailed battery composition, formulas, vehicle production costs, procurement information of auto parts and raw materials, and sales channels......
Is this the information required for a "countervailing investigation"? This is to hollow out all the foundations of Chinese car companies, so that they can use them to engage in electric vehicles, right?
What is even more outrageous is that this information is required to be mandatory, but if it is less, it will be labeled as not cooperating with the investigation, and after the temporary tariffs are implemented, they will be directly taxed.
The EU's approach has completely disregarded the international market order and trade rules, and is an out-and-out bandit act.
Unexpectedly, when the developing countries of the world are following the international rules established by the United States and the West, the Westerners have become the party that takes the lead in violating the rules, and they have also come up with the traditional means of their ancestors' primitive accumulation and making a fortune: stealing and grabbing.
In this regard, China's Ministry of Commerce stressed that China will take all necessary measures to effectively protect the legitimate rights of Chinese enterprises.
Scholz's remarks in the House of Parliament were so hyped that they naturally caught the attention of the European Commission, which rejected his proposal shortly after his proposal, using the same trick of hyping up "China's overcapacity", which claimed that they were "creating a level playing field".
It can also be seen from the European Commission's response to Scholz that tariffs on electric vehicles in China seem to be economic sanctions, but they are actually political suppression.
In the past, Germany was keen to compete with France for the position of the leader of the European Union, but now it is very unhappy with the European Commission, which will undoubtedly shake Germany's influence within the European Union, and also further confirms the fact that the EU is no longer monolithic.
At present, China and the EU are still engaged in consultations and negotiations, and I wonder if both sides can take a step back and maintain trade stability as Scholz wishes.
Although China does not want to be drawn into a trade war, if the EU is really bent on going its own way, China will not sit idly by, and compared with the less than ideal economic conditions of most EU countries, the more stable China has more drastic countermeasures.
A few years ago, the United States imposed heavy taxes on some imported goods from China, which led to a rapid rise in prices, because the White House's tax increases were passed on to American companies and consumers, and they were also miserable, and they demanded that the government stop raising taxes.
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Resources:
2024-06-29 German Chinese Network: Scholz Sudden Proposal: Both EU and China Charge 15% Tariffs;
2024-06-28 Southern Metropolis Daily: "EU Plans to Fine-tune China's Electric Vehicle Tariffs, Slightly Reduced by 0.5%?" The industry sees it this way";
2024-06-20 Finance Associated Press: "The EU spies on the technology of Chinese automakers in the name of countervailing investigations?" Response from the Ministry of Commerce";
2024-06-12 Lianhe Zaobao: "EU will impose tariffs of up to 38.1% on electric vehicles from China in early July"