BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission has warned three Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers that they did not provide enough information as part of its investigation into subsidies on imports from China, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
If the Commission, which oversees the trade policy of the 27 EU member states, concludes that the information provided by the BYD, SAIC and Geely groups is insufficient, it could use data available elsewhere to calculate customs duties, which could cause them to swell.
Warnings of this type are common in EU trade defense cases. Indeed, in the ten investigations into China’s subsidies for which measures are still in force, the Commission has used “facts available” to fill in certain gaps.
Affected companies have the right to respond to the warning.
BYD, SAIC and Geely did not immediately respond to requests for comment. May 3 is a public holiday in China.
The Commission launched an investigation in October to determine whether to impose additional tariffs on imports of electric vehicles made in China.
According to Brussels, these cars could benefit from subsidies granted by Beijing which would distort competition and penalize European manufacturers.
The China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) said in April that the investigation was unfavorable to Chinese manufacturers and lacked transparency.
She particularly complained about the large amount of information that Brussels demanded from Chinese producers.
(Reporting Philip Blenkinsop; French version Diana Mandiá, editing by Kate Entringer)
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