Why does one Chinese automaker get a heavier European import tax than another?

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Chinese carmaker SAIC has taken the brunt of new import tariffs.
The company, known in Europe for brands such as MG and Maxus, has to swallow an additional import tariff of no less than 36.3%.
Competitor BYD got off a lot better with a tariff increase of “only” 17%.
But why is there such a big difference between these import fines?
According to Bloomberg, it’s all about how well you cooperate with European authorities’ investigations.

SAIC

The European Commission is not particularly pleased with SAIC’s cooperation during the investigation.
The company supplied important information late and withheld sensitive company data, such as the chemical composition of their batteries.
This did not go down well with the EU, which is now punishing this lack of transparency with hefty import tariffs on SAIC.

BYD and Geely

Competitor BYD handled it a lot smarter.
They engaged international lawyers and proactively worked with Brussels to neatly comply with EU requirements. The result? An additional tariff of “only” 17%, much lower than SAIC’s.
Geely, the parent company of Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and Zeekr, also managed to reduce their tariff to 19.3% thanks to good cooperation and documentation.

Tesla

Although Tesla is an American company, many of their cars roll off the assembly line in China.
Some of them then come to Europe.
Brussels had therefore imposed a 20.8% import tariff on Tesla.
But the Americans thought that was unjustified, because they say they have far fewer ties to the Chinese government and receive virtually no state support.
They were able to prove that and that is why Brussels reduced the import tariff on Tesla substantially: from almost 21% to 9%.

China comes up with countermeasures

The Chinese government is obviously not happy with the trade war Europe has started and has decided to scrutinize European subsidies on dairy products, a move seen as a direct response to Europe’s import tariffs.
In addition, Beijing is looking at ways to penalize European cars coming to China with tax measures.

Also read: Column: “Import duty on EVs from China destroys EV market”