Warnings of this kind occur frequently in EU trade defence cases. Indeed, for all 10 past anti-subsidy cases against China for which measures are still in place, the Commission used such “facts available” to fill in certain gaps.
The companies -BYD, SAIC and Geely- have been given the right to respond to the warning.
The Commission, which oversees trade policy in the 27-nation European Union, launched an investigation in October into whether battery electric vehicles manufactured in China were receiving distortive subsidies and warranted extra tariffs.
The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) said earlier this month that the investigation was stacked against Chinese manufacturers.
The investigation, officially launched on 4 October, can last up to 13 months. The Commission can impose provisional anti-subsidy duties nine months after the start of the probe.
For once, China is not the bad guy here. It used industrial policy to get ahead in green technology. Now it wants to reap the benefits. Exactly as the West, Japan and the Asian tigers did in the past when they had a technological edge.
Europe could have done the same. Nothing was stopping it. Instead, we have a car lobby in denial, and a decadent public who vote for clueless populists.