Brussels, 20 August 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The European Commission on Tuesday announced a draft plan to impose long-term import tariffs to counteract Chinese electric vehicles (EV) subsidies, following the imposition of provisional tariffs on July 4.

The commission has sent its draft decision to affected companies, the Chinese government and the European Union's member states.

The commission said on Tuesday that it no longer intends to impose the tariffs retroactively. That means the EU will not collect the provisional tariffs imposed in July, a commission official said.

The EU executive has also announced the planned long-term tariff rates for particular EV manufacturers, which differ from the provisional tariffs.

The EU executive said the decision reflects the comments from the parties involved and includes the outcome of "investigative steps" completed since July 4.

The highest provisional tariff imposed in July was 37.6% on imports from SAIC. But the draft decision announced on Tuesday would lower that to 36.3%.

Other companies that did not cooperate with the commission's investigation will face the same rate, similarly revised down from 37.6%.

BYD, a major sponsor of the recent Euro 2024 football tournament in Germany, would face tariffs of 17%, down from 17.4%.

Geely faces a 19% tariff, down from a 19.9% provisional tariff imposed in July.

Other companies that cooperated with the commission's investigation will face a standard rate of 21.3%, which is slightly higher than the provisional rate. A commission official said this was due to a calculation error.

US EV maker Tesla, which manufactures some of its cars in China, requested an individual assessment. The outcome of that assessment is that Tesla would face a 9% tariff on imports from China into the EU.

The counter-subsidy tariffs would apply in addition to the standard 10% tariff already in place.

The parties involved have 10 days to respond further before the commission finalizes its plan, which also needs the approval of the European Union's 27 member states.

The final deadline for the long-term measures to become law is October 30, after which the tariffs would apply for five years, the commission said.

MIA file photo