BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Commission will postpone its decision on possible customs duties on Chinese electric vehicles beyond the June 9 European elections, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
These provisional customs duties, the announcement of which was expected on June 5, should significantly increase the costs of Chinese electric cars sold in Europe and are contested in advance by Beijing.
The postponement of the announcement aims to keep the subject, a source of trade tensions with China, out of the campaign for the European elections, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel, which first reported this information.
The Reuters source said a new date had been set for June 10 for the announcement, although he believed the delay was due to a last-minute technical problem with the document.
The European Commission was not immediately available to comment on this information.
The European executive’s investigation into the subsidies that Chinese car manufacturers would benefit from Beijing was opened on October 4 and could last 13 months. After opening the investigation, the Commission has nine months to impose provisional customs duties.
(Written by Riham Alkousaa, French version Bertrand Boucey, edited by Camille Raynaud)
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