EU lays out its China EV tariff calculations

The European Commission on Thursday published the findings of its nine-month investigation into China's electric vehicle market, giving insight into how it calculated tariffs and the evidence it collected to support its highest profile trade case.

The report details reluctance by the Chinese government and state-owned automaker SAIC to cooperate with the Commission's investigation into whether Chinese EV makers benefit from unfair state support.

That justified imposing the top tariff rate of 37.6% on SAIC, while fellow Chinese automakers BYD and Geely face lower tariffs of 17.4% and 19.9% respectively to reflect their cooperation.

The document accompanied the announcement of provisional tariffs for Chinese-made electric vehicles of up to 37.6% which come into effect on Friday, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing which has threatened to retaliate.

It will...