EU countries have voted in favour of imposing up to 45% on China-made electric vehicles (EVs) for five years.

Just over a year ago, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission (EC), announced that Brussels was to investigate the imposing of import duties on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) coming from China to the EU.

Von der Leyen said the decision to do so was due to “growing evidence-based concerns about the recent and rapid rise in low-priced exports of EVs from China”.

In July 2024, the EC announced that following the investigation it had concluded that the booming Chinese sector benefits from “unfair subsidisation” by Beijing which is causing a “threat of economic injury to EU BEV producers”.

The EC proposed a provisional measure that included anti-subsidy tariffs of up to 35.3%, on top of the existing 10% of tariffs.

A final decision on definitive duties would be made through a vote by the 27 EU member states later in the year.

This vote took place on Friday, with...