EU Commission to postpone Chinese EV tariff decision

THE European Commission will postpone its decision on Chinese electric vehicle (EV) tariffs until after the European Parliament election on Jun 9, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday (May 29).

The provisional tariffs, which were expected to be announced by Jun 5, would be a sticker shock representing billions of US dollars in new costs for Chinese electric car makers.

The delay aims to keep the issue out of the election campaign phase, said German magazine Spiegel, which first reported the news. The European Parliament election is on Jun 6 to 9.

The source told Reuters that the new deadline was Jun 10, the day after election results are released, although they believed the change was related to a last minute technical issue with the document.

A European Commission spokesperson said the date was not confirmed yet.

The investigation, officially launched on Oct 4, can last up to 13 months. The Commission can impose provisional anti-subsidy duties nine months after the start of the probe.

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The Commission has warned three Chinese EV makers that they have not supplied sufficient information for the anti-subsidy investigation, two sources familiar with the case told Reuters earlier this month. REUTERS