Overview
- Published on January 12, the guidance lets Chinese exporters submit minimum import price offers that may substitute for the 2024 countervailing duties of 7.8%–35.3% which combine with the EU’s 10% import tariff to reach as high as 45.3%.
- Any undertaking must remove the injurious effects of subsidies, be practicable, limit cross‑compensation risks, and satisfy general policy considerations under the EU’s basic anti‑subsidy rules.
- Minimum prices must be model‑ and configuration‑specific, with benchmarks drawn from adjusted historical CIF prices or comparable unsubsidised EU BEV prices including SG&A and a reasonable profit margin.
- The guidance highlights monitoring practicality, favouring simpler sales channels, and allows offers to include annual volume limits or time‑bound terms, plus verifiable EU investment commitments whose breach could trigger withdrawal and retroactive duties.
- China’s commerce ministry and the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU welcomed the step, and the Commission is already reviewing a price and quota proposal from Volkswagen’s China joint venture, with any accepted undertakings to be formalised via an Implementing Decision after comitology approval.