- The EU is expected to allow Chinese access to European subsidies in exchange for transferring technology and IP to European companies.
- This is expected to be confirmed before new EU grants for battery manufacturing become available in December.
It’s no secret that China wasn’t too happy with the EU’s tariffs against imported EVs. Earlier this year, EU member states voted to enact a fairly severe tiered tariff based on investigations that assert that China unfairly subsidizes its EV industry. The tariff added up to 35.3% to imported Chinese EVs, not counting the 10% already added to imported vehicles. Months of negotiations only reduced that number by a measly 0.1%, but the EU and China never stopped negotiating. Now, it looks like a new resolution may be on the table. Reporting from the Financial Times shows that a stunning breakthrough in talks between the two entities could be coming soon. The EU is expected to compel Chinese businesses to transfer technology and intellectual property to European businesses in exchange for access to European subsidies.
This is poetic in a sense. Years ago, China enacted a joint venture program where foreign automakers had to enter a 50-50 relationship with a local Chinese company in order to access the Chinese market. The plan was for local Chinese companies to “learn” from established ones, although some critics have insisted that the joint venture scheme was merely a way to transfer intellectual property from the West into China. Whatever the case, China officially ended the joint venture requirement in 2022. Also, Tesla famously entered China under special circumstances, not creating a joint venture with any local Chinese company.
We’ll just have to wait and see. The incoming Trump administration has been adamant that it wants to be even harsher on China, but of the same token, Trump himself said he wasn’t against Chinese EV or supply chain manufacturing being created in the United States. Perhaps a similar arrangement is on the horizon for the United States.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
Credit : insideevs.com
