European tariffs are rejected by Chinese producers as «unacceptable»
The European Commission (EC) slapped duties of up to 38.1% on Chinese electric vehicle imports on Thursday; the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers criticized the European authorities’ inquiry and called the taxes «unacceptable.»
The Association assured that «China’s automotive industry has actively collaborated, providing all the documentation required by the investigating authorities» in a statement posted on its official Wechat social media account. The Association expressed its «disappointment» at what it considers a «distortion of the results of the investigation» by the Community bloc.
The Commission was accused by Chinese manufacturers of «abusing its investigative power» and of «biased selection of companies for sampling.»
The organization declared, «Chinese electric vehicle exports have not only contributed positively to market cultivation and industrial development in the importing regions, but have also provided excellent consumer experience locally.»
In recent weeks, the Chinese state-owned press has advanced possible retaliatory measures by China, such as a tax hike on the import of large vehicles or “anti-dumping” investigations against dairy products or pork from Europe. The latter would particularly affect Spain, since it is the main exporter of pork to the Asian country.
