Switzerland does not have to accept EU tariffs on Chinese e-cars
Published: Friday, Oct 4th 2024, 13:40
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According to experts at the Swiss government, the EU's punitive tariffs on e-cars from China will have no impact on imports into Switzerland. On Friday, the EU member states approved the European Commission's proposal to impose additional tariffs on Chinese e-cars.
In July, when the European Commission introduced provisional punitive tariffs, a spokesperson for the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) told the Keystone-SDA news agency that Switzerland was under no obligation to comply with trade defense measures or other EU tariff decisions. In principle, protective trade policy measures are not in Switzerland's interests.
Furthermore, Switzerland has no longer levied customs duties on imported industrial goods, including cars, since January 1, 2024, the spokesperson said. In addition, the free trade agreement with China provides for a complete exemption from customs duties on industrial products originating in China. If Chinese cars are imported directly into Switzerland, they can continue to be imported duty-free.
The European Commission announced the additional tariffs after an investigation accused Beijing of promoting e-cars with subsidies that distort the market in the EU. It is up to the Commission to decide whether the import duties will come into force at the beginning of November. The EU and China will continue to look for an alternative solution, the European Commission announced on Friday.
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