China hints at import duties on European and American cars

China may impose import duties on European and American cars. The CCCEU, the trade association for companies from China in the EU, reports this based on signals from insiders. According to the CCCEU, such tariffs would affect European and American car manufacturers and have a ‘significant’ impact on the relationship between Beijing and Brussels.

The CCCEU also referred in a statement on X to an interview in the Global Times, the newspaper of China’s ruling party. In it, the chief expert of the China Automotive Technology & Research Center called for a temporary increase in import tariffs, specifically for cars with engines larger than 2.5 liters. According to the expert, China imported 250,000 such cars last year, accounting for 32 percent of the total number of imported vehicles.

Of course, the possible introduction of import duties does not just come out of the blue. In the EU, Chinese cars are under a magnifying glass because of possible ‘unfair competition’ thanks to financial support from the Chinese government. Brussels must announce before June 5 whether Chinese exporters of electric cars will have to pay import tariffs in the EU. In the United States it goes one step further and the Biden administration wants to quadruple the import duties on Chinese cars to one hundred percent.