The
European Union imposed provisional tariffs of up to 37.6% on
imports of electric vehicles (EV) made in China in July, keen to
protect its domestic EV production, after an EU investigation
found the cars were subsidized by China.
China on Friday requested a WTO consultation, arguing the EU
investigation results and the provisional tariffs lacked factual
and legal basis and seriously violated the global body's rules.
The Commission, which handles all trade issues for the 27-nation
EU, said it was carefully studying all the details of Beijing's
request to the WTO and would react to the Chinese authorities in
due course according to the WTO procedures.
"The Commission is confident of the WTO-compatibility of its
investigation and provisional measures," a Commission
spokesperson said.
"This request for WTO consultations does not affect the timeline
of the anti-subsidy investigation, which in the meantime
continues," the spokesperson said.
WTO cases typically take a very long time to resolve. The
effectiveness of the WTO's dispute settlement is now further
undermined by the lack of a functioning Appellate Body, which
has been blocked by the lack of new appointments since 2019.
However, the EU and China are party to an appropriate
Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), which
allows to adjudicate possible disputes pending the blockade of
the appointment of the WTO Appellate Body.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
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