Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, speaks during the Milken Conference 2024 Global Conference Session at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, USA, May 6, 2024.
David Swanson | Reuters
Tesla Following the European Union’s decision to impose higher tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, specially calculated tariffs may be imposed on cars made in China and imported into Europe.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, imposed steep tariffs of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric car makers on Wednesday. The temporary tariffs will take effect on July 4 if the EU cannot reach a deal with Chinese authorities. So-called “final measures” will come into effect four months later.
The European Commission said that at this stage, Tesla “may be subject to tariffs calculated on an individual basis.”
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told CNBC on Wednesday that Tesla has pushed for lower tariffs and that the European Commission is considering it.
“We can also look into the specific situation with Tesla and the subsidies in more detail. [that] “Tesla is specifically taxed in China and that could actually lead to different levels of countervailing duties,” he said.
Shanghai, China, is home to Tesla’s largest Gigafactory, and according to Chinese state media, Tesla plans to ship 947,000 vehicles from the Shanghai factory in 2023, with 600,000 of them for the Chinese market and the rest for export.
The European move follows in the footsteps of the United States, where President Joe Biden’s administration last month imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently commented on the US tariffs.
“Neither Tesla nor I asked for these tariffs,” Musk said in May.
“Tesla is very competitive in the Chinese market without tariffs or special assistance,” Musk added. “I’m in favor of no tariffs.”
