The German Auto Industry Suffers Another Smackdown Blow

Unlike US auto manufacturers, Germany’s counterparts did not want tariffs on China’s EV. Germany lost the vote in the European Council.

EU Votes for Tariffs on Chinese EVs

This story may seem counteractive but Germany does not want the EU to place tariffs on Chinese EVs.

This is because Germany is still dependent on its internal combustion engines for exports and China will undoubtedly retaliate.

TheDriven reports EU Votes for China EV Tariffs Despite Protests from Germany and Others.

Euronews reported that just under half (12) of the members states abstained from the vote, with 10 voting in favour and five voting against including Germany, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Despite the vote, EU-China negotiations can continue until October 30 with the possibility of finding an agreement to prevent the tariffs. China attacked the probe from the very outset, labelling it a “naked protectionist act,” an denying the existence of any subsidies, wrote Euronews.

Germany sought to block the proposal to protect its car industry, which relied on China for a third of its sales last year, from any Chinese retaliatory measures. To block the proposal Germany, would have needed to win the support of another 14 member states for a so-called qualified majority, comprising 65 percent of the EU’s population.

Germany is not currently on track to meet its target of having 15 million electric cars on its roads by 2030, despite being the world’s second largest producer of electric cars in 2023.

Brussels Breaks Impasse

EuroNews reports Brussels Breaks Impasse after EU Countries Fail to Agree on Chinese EV Tariffs

European Union countries failed to agree on whether to slap China-made electric vehicles (EVs) with steeper tariffs during a closely watched vote that ended with too many abstentions, forcing the European Commission to overcome the political impasse and push its proposal over the finish line.

The outcome of Friday’s vote was not publicly available, although several diplomats told Euronews how each member state positioned itself:

• 10 were in favour: Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands and Poland. (45.99% of the EU population)
• 12 abstained: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Finland. (31.36%)
• Five were against: Germany, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia. (22.65%)

The Commission “should not trigger a trade war. We need a negotiated solution,” Germany’s Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in reaction to the vote.

The dispute around Chinese EVs marked a rare moment where the [European Council] president, [Ursula von der Leyen] a German native, defended a position strenuously opposed by her home country.

The political fiasco could reverberate until the country holds its federal election in September 2025.

Only 45.99 percent of the EU was in favor of tariffs but the European Council rammed through the tariffs over Germany’s objection.

Tariffs are one of the areas where changes do not have to be unanimous. But 45.99 percent is quite the ramrod.

Of those voting for vs against it was 45.99 percent to 22.65 percent a 67 percent margin to enact.

EU Tariffs

• Tesla: 7.8%
• BYD: 17%
• Geely: 18.8%
• SAIC: 35.3%
• Other EV producers in China that cooperated in the investigation but have not been individually sampled: 20.7%
• Other EV producers in China that did not cooperate: 35.3%

Those are on top of existing tariffs.

As in the US

This is just as in the US. Those in charge not only mandate EVs, they set policy to ensure the cars are as expensive as possible.

Electric Big Rigs Don’t Make Sense Even With $40,000 in Tax Credits

This morning I noted Electric Big Rigs Don’t Make Sense Even With $40,000 in Tax Credits

Due to Biden’s regulations, truckers are driving older engines longer because they can’t afford newer diesel models. The result is more pollution.

Joe Biden’s Position on Tariffs

The Above Tweet was from June 11, 2019.

On May 14, 2024, Biden changed his tune.

On June 13, I noted The EU Taxes Vehicles from China that its Own Companies Make

Eurointelligence: The trickle-down profit margins that permeated through German industry will be a thing of the past. The new cars will have fewer components, and fewer German-made components. This is the reason why the decline in cars constitutes a decline in industry and in the economy – to the extent that countries depend on it. Germany is one of those.

On October 5, I noted Buy American Provisions Cost $125,000 Per Job Created

“Buy America” sounds great. But it’s costly and about to rise steeply.

One wonders how idiotic tariff policy can get. Competition is stiff between Biden, the EU, Harris, and Trump.