The notice marks the end of the first phase of a closely followed investigation that has raised the prospect of an EU-China trade war. The countervailing duty was around the level expected and higher than the average EU duty of this kind at 19 per cent.
The rate will be added to the existing 10 per cent import tariff on the vehicles, bringing the total level to 31 per cent from July 4 for vehicles that were not among those sampled in the probe, after which the European Commission will have four months to affix permanent duties.
The result is that Chinese-made EVs will be more expensive to…