BEIJING: The EU continues to take protectionist actions against Chinese products, with biodiesel becoming the latest Chinese product targeted by the bloc in a move that will further escalate tension between China and the EU amid the dispute over the EU’s additional tariffs against Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).
The EU’s protectionist actions will not protect the bloc’s businesses from normal market competition, but instead will undermine the competitiveness of EU industries and slow the bloc’s transition toward green development, the experts noted.
In the latest example of the EU’s growing protectionism against China, the bloc imposed provisional anti-dumping tariffs of between 12.8 percent and 36.4 percent on Chinese biodiesel starting on Friday, according to media reports.
China’s exports of biodiesel to the EU have dropped sharply since mid-2023, with the volume in the first half of 2024 plunging 51 percent amid the EU’s protectionist actions. The EU is one of the largest destinations for Chinese biodiesel exports, accounting for 90 percent of the total export volume in 2023, Reuters reported.
This is just the latest example of the EU’s growing protectionism against Chinese products and companies. The EU has announced so-called anti-subsidy tariffs of up to 37.6 percent against Chinese EVs after what Chinese officials and experts said was a discriminatory investigation into Chinese EVs. The EU has also targeted Chinese companies’ involvement in some projects in EU member countries.
Chinese officials have repeatedly criticized the EU’s actions and Chinese industry groups have warned of grave consequences for bilateral economic and trade cooperation as well as the EU’s plan to transition toward green development.
Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of European Studies, said that the EU’s latest actions against Chinese biodiesel is just another example of the bloc’s growing protectionism.
“The best way forward is cooperation,” Zhao told the Global Times on Sunday, “however, the current political environment in the EU has become inward. The EU’s protectionist actions, including the so-called anti-dumping investigations, are very unwise.”
Chinese officials have vowed to take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.
As part of China’s efforts to protect its rights and interests, the Ministry of Commerce earlier this month announced that it has initiated dispute settlement proceedings against the EU’s provisional anti-subsidy measures against Chinese EVs at the WTO.
The EU’s protectionist moves against Chinese products and companies have already caused damage to trade in relevant industries.
In the first half of 2024, Chinese EV exports to the EU plunged by 15 percent year-on-year to 221,000 units, according to Chinese official data. In June alone, EV exports fell below the level of 30,000 units, a decline of 31 percent year-on-year and the lowest in the year, the data showed. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
