On November 4, 2024, Maros Sefcovic, a candidate for EU Trade Commissioner, said in an interview that any agreement reached with Chinese electric car manufacturers on the minimum import price of electric vehicles must be as effective and enforceable as the tariff measures implemented by the EU last week. He stressed that the EU wants to ensure fair competition in its market and avoid unfair price dumping in the electric car industry.
Sefcovic pointed out that the EU is seeking to reach a cooperation agreement with Chinese electric car manufacturers to cope with the trend of a large number of Chinese electric vehicles entering the European market in recent years. The EU is worried that the low price of Chinese electric vehicles may have a serious impact on European local automakers and disrupt the market order. Therefore, the European Commission has begun negotiations on this issue and explored the possibility of setting a minimum import price.
According to Sefcovic, any agreement reached must be guaranteed to be operational and can be effectively implemented. He emphasized that this is similar to the anti-dumping tariffs recently imposed by the EU on certain Chinese goods. The tariff policy must be transparent and enforceable to ensure the maintenance of a fair trade environment. Šefčović also added that the EU is not against China’s electric vehicle development, but hopes to ensure that all manufacturers can compete on an equal basis through a reasonable trade framework.
This statement is one of the latest measures taken by the EU in the face of changes in the global electric vehicle industry. In recent years, Chinese electric vehicles have rapidly occupied a share in the global market due to their lower prices and technological innovations, especially in the European market, which has achieved significant growth. For this reason, there are different voices within the EU on how to balance the contradiction between supporting environmental protection technology innovation and protecting local industries.
Šefčović’s speech also shows that the EU’s attention to the global electric vehicle market competition is increasing, especially in the context of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers rapidly expanding their market share in Europe. How to formulate appropriate trade policies will become a key issue in the future.
At present, the European Commission is continuing its dialogue with China and will closely monitor the further development of the electric vehicle industry. The ultimate goal of the EU is to ensure that the global automotive industry can achieve both innovation and a fair competition environment during the green transformation process.