EU?s tariffs on Chinese EVs will slow progress on bloc?s green goals

[gurusforum]

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Forced to choose between its ambitious climate goals and a major loss of electric vehicle market share to China, the European Union opted to protect its carmakers. But analysts say the long-term effect on efforts to reduce greenhouse gases remains to be seen.

Provisional duties of up to 37.6% on Chinese-made EVs imposed by the EU earlier this month ?might slow sales of EVs,? which are a key component of any plan to slow the rate of climate change, acknowledged Miranda Schreurs, professor at the Technical University of Munich, in an interview.

?It probably does have to do with concerns about the tariffs and also concerns about the [extent to which] Europe is really supporting the transition to EVs right now,? said Schreurs, who specializes in environment and climate policy, including energy transitions.

?That can have a negative impact if European consumers feel like the Green Deal is hurting them rather than helping them. ? And many people are much more worried about inflation and their pockets ? so there?s the question of what will the public accept??

The EU imposed the new duties, which come on top of an existing 10% tariff, after accusing Beijing of offering ?unfair subsidization? that threatened economic injury to Europe?s own electric vehicle makers. The bloc said China-made EVs were selling at prices 20% lower than those of their European counterparts.

Beijing retaliated last week with an anti-dumping probe into EU imports that singled out Danish, Dutch and Spanish pork firms.

Schreurs said the trade dispute reflects major changes in the global auto market based on growing awareness of the threat posed by climate change and the potential of electric vehicles to eliminate a major source of the gases that are heating the planet.

?China, which wasn?t a big international player in terms of automobile exports, has become the dominant player ? the biggest player ? in EV exports in the last several years,? ?This is putting a lot of pressure on European manufacturers of automobiles.?

FILE - A pork vendor attends to a customer at a morning market in Beijing, China August 9, 2023.