The Financial Times quoted people familiar with the matter on Wednesday (June 12) as saying that the European Commission has decided to impose additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, despite opposition from Germany.

People familiar with the matter revealed that the European Commission will notify automakers on the 12th that it will temporarily impose additional tariffs of up to 25% on imported electric vehicles from China from July. Brussels said that Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers benefited from subsidies and weakened the competitiveness of European rivals.

The report said that the additional tariffs will bring more than 2 billion euros (about 2.9 billion Singapore dollars) in revenue to the European Union each year. The German government warned that the move may be costly and may trigger a trade war between China and Europe.

In response to the growth in sales of Chinese electric vehicles in Europe, France and Spain have vigorously promoted the imposition of additional tariffs on China.

Analysts at Rhodium Group said that China, the EU’s largest trading partner, exported 10 billion euros worth of electric vehicles to the EU in 2023, and its market share doubled last year to 8%.