Michael Hess’ Post

🚗🌍 EU Tariffs on Chinese EV Imports: What’s Your Take? 🌍🚗 There's been a lot of discussion recently about the European Union's new tariffs on EV imports from China. Some argue that these tariffs will help protect European car manufacturers, while others believe they could lead to more issues, including higher costs for consumers. 🤔 The article below presents interesting points on both sides of the debate. Is this the right move by the EU, or could it create more problems for everyone involved? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! 💬👇 For those interested in a deeper discussion, join us at the Automotive Masterminds - The new Automotive Conference Conference on May 5-6, 2025, to explore this topic with industry experts. #amm25 #EV #EU #China #tariffs https://lnkd.in/edwRaYEJ

The European Union plans to impose tariffs of up to 25-30% on electric vehicles (EVs) imported from China to counteract what it views as unfair market distortion due to Chinese state subsidies. This move aims to level the playing field for European manufacturers. France supports the tariffs, while Germany, concerned about a potential trade war, is more cautious. The EU's decision follows insufficient cooperation from major Chinese automakers like BYD and Geely in an ongoing anti-subsidy investigation.

Kiina valmistelee vastatulleja isolla moottorilla varustetuille tuontiautoille: "China is considering imposing tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported large-engine vehicles, according to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the EU. The measure would target cars with at least 2.5-liter engines. It would be the first major Chinese reaction after US President Biden's recent announcement that he would impose tariffs on imported Chinese goods such as electric cars and minerals, and after the launch of an EU investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles last year." #autoteollisuus #tuontitullit #kiina #geopolitiikka #kauppapolitiikka https://lnkd.in/dR6g9iYj

A rather unwise decision in my opinion. Two important questions: 1. European car companies have earned a lot in the Chinese market over the past 30 years. If a trade war were to be launched, would it hurt EU OEMs even more? I hope EU has good discussions with China behind the scenes; otherwise, it would pose a great challenge to Sino-EU trade relations. 2. In 2023, Chinese cars hold only a 2.5% market share in the EU. Among them, over 70% are MG, which was already a famous British OEM long ago before it was sold to Shanghai Auto. Is it worth risking a trade conflict for such a small market share of Chinese OEMs? The EU Commission must make decisions in the best interest of EU citizens. However, I see more risks in this decision than benefits. If the EU Commission wants to improve the European EV industry, additional tariffs will not help; fair competition and free trade will. For instance, many German OEMs have formed partnerships with Chinese companies in the electric automobile industry, just as they did 30 years ago when entering the Chinese market. These practices are far better than imposing tariffs.

■Mercedes-Benz CEO Urges EU Commission to Lower Tariffs on Imported Electric Cars from China■ March 12, 2024 Source: ManagerMagazin ; ARI_lg Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius (54) has called on the EU Commission in Brussels to reduce tariffs on imported electric cars from China. "Increased competition from China would ultimately assist European automakers in producing better cars," Källenius told the Financial Times. He emphasized that protectionism leads in the wrong direction. Source: ManagerMagazin #MercedesBenz #EconomicPolicy #MarketAccess #Competition #AutomotiveIndustry #EuropeanUnion #China #FreeTrade #Globalization https://lnkd.in/eHudC-QU

One of the major impacts of the Brexit for the automotive industry is surfacing in next 2 months from Jan 2024. OEM's are concerned as this would hurt both the competitiveness in the respective markets as well the sustainability transitions. Time is ticking between UK and EU for the 10% tariffs imposition on the cars whose value creation is not 45% either in EU and UK. Earlier, the EU automotive association had requested to postpone these rules to 2026 and now Economics Minister Robert Habeck recommends the same. Excerpt from the article here: "The background is that due to Britain's exit from the EU, new customs rules are actually due to come into force on January 1, 2024. Vehicles whose value creation is less than 45 percent in the EU or Great Britain should be subject to a duty of ten percent. However, due to the lack of in-house battery production in Great Britain and the EU, this cannot be avoided for electric cars in the foreseeable future. British car manufacturers therefore fear that they will no longer be competitive in the important EU export market. German car manufacturers also have to fear that tariffs will be incurred when exporting to Great Britain in the future. The Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) had called for the current rules to be extended until the end of 2026." https://lnkd.in/dQ7VsymD #bevs #brexit #automotiveindustry

The announced EU tariffs on Chinese e-cars have not yet triggered a major backlash. However, experts expect measures in other sectors to put pressure on individual EU countries. It is still uncertain whether and how China will make good on its threats of countermeasures. However, observers expect that the Chinese state and party leadership will not simply take the new EU punitive tariffs lying down. "All the patterns we have seen so far on the Chinese side in matters of trade policy indicate that the leadership will react with severity here and is certainly prepared for serious confrontations," says Mikko Huotari, who heads the Berlin-based China research institute Merics. Although there is no interest in a trade war, this does not mean that the leadership is automatically prepared to compromise. A complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is possible, says He Yadong, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The EU's actions are suspected of violating its rules. China therefore reserves the right to file a complaint. The People's Republic joined the WTO in 2001.  Internationally, there was hope that China would transform itself into a free market economy through trade. However, more than 20 years later, the country ruled by the Communist Party continues to be criticized for not adhering to the market economy rules of the WTO. For example, foreign companies have been complaining for years that market access in the country is more difficult. "A lawsuit would be very good in many respects," says China expert Huotari. In his opinion, such proceedings would tend to end to China's disadvantage. The EU Commission has "taken a very solid approach overall": "In this respect, we should almost ask Beijing to take this step." He and other analysts also believe that Chinese countermeasures are possible in order to put targeted pressure on individual EU countries. China may want to target aviation and agriculture, Joe Mazur from the Trivium research team in China told the Reuters news agency. He believes the agricultural sector is more likely: "This gives China an opportunity to punish the main proponents of tariffs in the EU - namely France and Spain. And there are indications that there could be an investigation into pork from the EU. Last year, Spain accounted for the largest share of Chinese pork imports at just under 23 percent. The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing has already declared that Chinese companies have the right to submit applications for anti-dumping investigations into European dairy and pork imports, and also "carrots" for some countries China expert Huotari says he assumes that China is not just relying on punishment. Not all EU member states are in favour of the new tariffs. "So Beijing will certainly deploy its entire diplomatic arsenal to revise or correct this decision." https://lnkd.in/e3XhpD86

⚡️ 🇨🇳 The EU and China are unlikely to engage in a trade war over special tariffs on electric cars. Both parties have a shared interest in cooperating to counter Donald Trump's influence. However, the imposition of these tariffs reflects a deeper crisis in the global economic order, requiring a paradigm shift in thinking about the world trade system.

Car experts angry about EU tariffs on Chinese electric cars: Robert Habeck should stop the "catastrophe" 21.06.2024 It is well known that the EU Commission intends to impose special tariffs on Chinese electric cars from July. German car manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are put off by this. After all, they are heavily dependent on China as the world's largest car market. However, automotive analyst Frank Schwope is certain that the problem will ultimately end up with the consumer. He warns: "For German car buyers, punitive tariffs on Chinese electric cars are a disaster." Depending on the cooperation of the manufacturers in the EU investigation, the planned tariffs could be up to 38.1 per cent in addition to the standard rate of 10 per cent. Car expert Dudenhöffer: "The German car manufacturers are losing out" The expected counter-tariffs from the Chinese would also destroy jobs in Germany. "It's terrible what the EU Commission is doing," says the economist. This opinion is also shared by the manufacturers who are directly confronted with the decision from the EU. "As an exporting nation, we don't need increasing barriers to trade," says Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management at Mercedes-Benz. Free and fair global trade is important to drive innovation and growth. VW is not convinced either. Logical: in no other country in the world does the Group sell as many cars as in China - around 3.2 million passenger cars in 2023. By comparison, sales in Germany were around 1.1 million. BMW and Mercedes also deliver hundreds of thousands of vehicles to China every year. Countervailing duties are not suitable for strengthening the competitiveness of the European car industry, says a VW. Furthermore, the tariffs are not even necessary to protect German car manufacturers. "We have confidence in our products and in our ability to innovate". We are confidently taking on international competition, including with China. So what do the car manufacturers want instead? BMW says: "Europe and Germany should cooperate with China to realise major political projects." This concerns climate, economic and energy policy, for example. The plans for additional import tariffs are the wrong way to go, says BMW CEO O. Zipse: "The EU Commission is damaging European companies and European interests." Suggestion to Habeck: Welcome Chinese companies Industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer has even more radical solutions: The EU Commission should withdraw 100 per cent of its tariff plans, he says. The automotive expert also has a suggestion for Habeck. He should tell China that Chinese companies and cars, such as BYD, Rowe or NIO, are welcome in Europe. "Do away with the ideology of 'de-coupling'," says Dudenhöffer, meaning that Europe should not decouple itself from China. https://lnkd.in/gV_QM-vH

Inconvenient truth: Most Chinese EV exports to Europe this year to-date were non-Chinese brands. On Wednesday, China said it was “very much dissatisfied” at a demand by the European Union to start talks within a “very short” time (15 days to register and 37 days for comments) on the bloc’s inquiry into the country’s assistance of its electric vehicle industry stretching back more than a decade. China’s commerce ministry also said the investigation lacked adequate evidence and did not conform with World Trade Organization rules. The European Commission formally launched the probe announced last month over complaints that, in the words of Ursula von der Leyen, “global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars and that price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies.” The EC believes China has been “distorting markets” in Europe through grants, soft loans, rebates and exemptions. The country also stands accused of providing raw materials and components to its EV industry at artificially low prices. The EC says China’s share of EVs sold in Europe has risen to 8% and could reach 15% in 2025 as the Chinese EV industry deals with overcapacity issues. In return, China urged the EU to “safeguard the stability of the global supply chain“ and its “strategic partnership”. Beijing has a point when it comes to intertwining EV and battery supply chains. The China-EU automotive trade is much more complicated than the simple dumping of unwanted domestic electric cars. ----- The Adamas Intelligence EV Battery Capacity and Battery Metals Tracker shows that in the first half of 2023, 19% of all GWhs delivered to EV (and hybrid) buyers in Europe, including Britain and non-EU states, were contained in China-made EVs and packs. Moreover, the majority of Chinese EV unit exports to Europe this year were in fact non-Chinese brands (including those of BMW and Dacia). Further raveling the issue is that the best part of these shipments were Teslas. ----- Full insight below 💡 📊 #electricvehicles #EVs #batteries #batterymetals #lithium #nickel #cobalt #manganese #graphite #rareearths #NdFeB #motors #China #Europe https://lnkd.in/gBiYmE3p