The Commission reckons it is on solid ground, however, having compiled evidence in its year-long anti-subsidy investigation that Beijing underwrote the Chinese EV industry’s rise to global dominance. That compares with arbitrary decisions taken by the U.S. and Canada to slap 100 percent duties on Made-in-China EVs.
“We’re ready,” the Commission’s trade spokesperson Olof Gill said on Thursday, responding to challenges already filed by the three top Chinese EV-makers BYD, SAIC and Volvo-owner Geely. “We’re a rules-based club here in the EU. If they want to take us to court, they can take us to court.”
POLITICO granted anonymity to the two industry sources familiar with the Tesla suit — they had direct knowledge of the matter but were not authorized to speak on the record.
The goal of the lawsuits would be to annul the law that imposed the duties. If the court sides with the exporters, they could then attempt to claim back the losses.
A lobby group representing several Chinese exporters — the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Machinery and Electronics (CCCME) — also is understood to have filed a case.
The Commission now has two months and 10 days to prepare its defense for the cases in Luxembourg.
