EU decision on punitive tariffs on Chinese electric cars may come on Friday

This is what EU diplomats told the AFP news agency on Monday.

The European Commission has proposed to add a penalty duty of up to 36 percent on top of the current duty rate of 10 percent on electric cars manufactured in China.

Threatens jobs

The background is that the commission believes it can prove that the car manufacturers receive illegal state aid. Thus, they can send cheap electric cars to Europe and thus outcompete European car manufacturers.

It could threaten millions of jobs. The EU’s automotive industry employs an estimated 14 million workers.

The EU countries must give the proposal a thumbs up or down by the end of October. Now Friday 4 October has surfaced as a likely date, according to the diplomats.

A yes to penalty duty will initially apply for five years.

For – and against

But several countries are against the punitive tariff, including Germany and Spain. They fear that this could lead to a trade war with China.

But it is questionable whether they will bring enough people to stop the penalty tariff. At least 15 countries, which together represent at least 65 percent of the EU’s population, must then turn their thumbs down.

Major EU countries such as France and Italy support the measure.