China considering higher tariffs on car imports

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. China reiterated that it may raise tariffs on imported internal-combustion-engine cars with large engines sizes, after the European Union voted earlier this month to increase import duties on China-made electric vehicles. The Ministry of Commerce is studying measures related to raising tariffs on imports of large-engine, fuel-powered cars, and will make a decision after considering relevant factors, ministry spokesperson He Yadong said at a Thursday press conference.

He added that there are significant disagreements between the China and the EU on the latter’s decision to move ahead with tariffs on Chinese EVs. China has invited EU officials to visit China for further negotiations, he added. This isn’t the first time that Chinese authorities have raised the possibility of higher tariffs on imported cars.

The commerce ministry in late August met with representatives from automakers and academic experts on the matter. EU member states in early October voted to move ahead with additional tariffs of up to 45% on China-made EVs, which will apply for the next five years. If China decides to levy higher tariffs on imported cars, that would affect German automakers the most, given the volume of German car imports, China Passenger Car Association president Dongshu Cui said.

The value of cars with an engine size of more than 2.5 liters imported from the EU in the first eight months of the year slid 13% from a year earlier to $10.2 billion, China Passenger Car Association data showed. The EU exported a total of 196,000 such cars to China in 2023, according to CPCA data. “This could be more of a political move rather than having real impact on automakers," CCB International analyst Qu Ke said,