EU Cuts EV Duties for Tesla, Slightly Lowers Rates for Others in China CVD Probe

The European Commission is cutting planned countervailing duties on Tesla vehicles imported from China by more than 10% and slightly lowering CVD on other EVs made by Chinese companies, it announced in draft definitive findings released Aug. 20.

The new rates include a 9% duty on certain vehicles from Tesla, down from the 21% provisional duty the commission had proposed in June after finding that China unfairly subsidizes its EV industry (see 2406120008). The bloc also said it plans to impose a 17% margin for exporter BYD (down from 17.4%), 19.3% for Geely (down from 20%), 36.3% for SAIC (down from 38.1%), 21.3% for other cooperating companies (up from 21%) and 36.3% for all other non-cooperating companies (down from 38.1%).

The downward adjustments "reflect technical corrections based on substantiated comments received from the interested parties on the provision measures," it said. The EU also said there remains a possibility for "several Chinese exporters and certain joint ventures with EU producers -- which did not yet export at the time of the investigation period -- to benefit from the lower duty rate foreseen for their related cooperating companies."

The commission also said it won't retroactively collect the CV duties.

Disclosing the draft definitive findings is an "intermediate procedural step" in the investigation to give parties a chance to comment, the EU said. Parties now have 10 days to provide comments on the definitive measures before they are presented to EU member states. Any duties would be in place for five years, "extendable upon substantiated request and subsequent review."