Complaint filed with WTO
China is certainly not happy with the financial benefit that the US government gives its residents if they buy an American-made electric car in their own country. China has therefore filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce writes that it has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to the ministry, this is done to ‘[…] safeguard the interests of Chinese companies in the field of electric cars’. Is there anything to protect? According to China, yes. In the United States, you get a financial benefit if you buy an EV produced in the US and not if you buy one made in China. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce doesn’t think that’s fair.
The ministry advocates a fair competitive environment and labels American subsidy policy as ‘discriminatory’. “The exclusion of products from other WTO members has distorted fair competition, seriously disrupted the global chain and supply chain of the new energy vehicle industry, and violated WTO rules such as national treatment,” the Chinese said. “China is firmly against that.” The Chinese Ministry of Commerce wants the “discriminatory policies to be corrected immediately” to restore stability in the international market.
There are more American policies in the automotive field that China objects to. For example, the US announced at the end of February that it would investigate whether ‘connected’ cars built in China pose a safety risk. The Ministry of Commerce says the following about this: ‘China has taken note of the situation. The United States uses “national security” as an excuse to hinder Chinese car exports; China expresses serious concerns about this. In recent years, the United States has imposed high tariffs on Chinese cars, restricted participation in government procurement and introduced discriminatory subsidy policies. Now the US plans to impose non-tariff barriers under the banner of national security. This will disrupt the global economy. The disruption of the supply chain and of the auto industry itself will also harm the interests of American consumers. The development of China’s electric car industry has made positive contributions to the green transformation of the global automotive industry and the response to climate change. China urges the United States to respect market principles and create a level playing field for companies from all countries.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl