The expected customs decision was made in a special committee in Brussels on Friday morning.
According to diplomatic sources to the news agency AFP, ten countries voted in favor and only five against. The remaining twelve chose to abstain from voting.
Among those who voted no were Hungary and Germany, while France and Italy were among the yes-voters.
Sweden was one of the countries that abstained from voting, despite the government being skeptical of the tariffs. Minister for Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa (The Moderate Party) refers to hopes that Volvo Cars will get off lightly.
It's nothing that's set in stone, it's nothing that's clear, but it's something that Sweden has driven very hard, said Dousa to TT before the vote.
We get positive signals from the Commission that this can become a special solution.
Trade War?
Germany and others who oppose the tariffs fear that a trade war will break out with China.
Sweden has a skeptical attitude towards this type of measure and we are a strong free trade friend. At the same time, it is so that the Commission's investigation has shown that China does not follow WTO's rules, says Dousa.
The proposal involves tariffs of up to 35 percent on imports of electric cars manufactured in China, from November this year – in addition to the already existing tariffs of ten percent, according to AFP.
The electric cars made by Volvo Cars in China have previously been said to receive a higher tariff than, for example, Tesla cars manufactured there.
We hope that this will result in price commitments from Volvo's side instead of tariffs. It means in practice that Volvo gets to keep the money instead of it being channeled into the EU, says Dousa.
The counter-demand for exemption is that one promises not to dump prices. A price commitment means that Volvo agrees with the EU Commission to maintain a certain price. According to Dousa, Volvo is a special case, since the company is now moving production to Europe.
Unfair Competition
The Commission believes that the Chinese state provides state aid to its electric car manufacturers, giving them unfair advantages over European manufacturers. China has protested and hinted that the response may be heavy tariffs on cognac, dairy products, and pork from the EU.
Even if the EU countries say yes to the tariffs, Dousa hopes that the negotiations between the Commission and China can continue.
Both Canada and the USA have recently introduced tariffs of 100 percent on electric cars from China.
