The car is parked at a Tesla dealership. Car maker Tesla presented its business figures for the past quarter after a reduction in deliveries.
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The European Union on Tuesday said planned tariffs on Tesla vehicles imported from China would be cut to 9% from 20.8%, while also reducing some planned import duties on other Chinese electric vehicle companies.
In June, the European Union said it would impose higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports, which benefit “largely from unfair subsidies” and pose a “threat of economic injury” to European EV makers.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, announced its preliminary conclusion that the battery-electric vehicle value chain in China “benefits from unfair subsidies” and stated that it is in the EU’s interest to impose a “temporary countervailing duty” on BEV imports. from China.
The EU Commission announced on Tuesday its draft decision to “impose definitive countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China.”
The regulatory agency stated that after receiving comments from interested parties on the planned tariffs, it will make “a slight adjustment of the proposed duty tariffs based on the confirmed comments on the temporary measures.”
Electric vehicles made by Tesla in China will now face a 9% duty on imports into the EU. That is down from the anticipated level of 20.8%, which the EU signed in the previous decision in July.
The EU said it made the decision to grant Tesla individual duty rates that it lowered itself as an exporter from China.
It comes after electric vehicle maker Elon Musk made a “strong request” to the EU that plans tariffs on Chinese-made EVs will be recalculated to reflect special subsidies the company receives in China.
BYD, the EV company backed by Warren Buffett, saw its tariff rate reduced from 17.4% to 17%; Geely from 19.9% ​​to 19.3%, SAIC from 37.6% to 36.3%.
Another company that cooperated with the European Union in its investigation into heavy EV subsidies in China will face a 21.3% tariff, the Commission said. This is higher than the 20.8% level cooperation companies will face under the July decision before the EU.
For those who do not cooperate, they will receive a 36.3% import duty. That’s down from 37.6% previously.
—CNBC’s Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this article.
