Overview
- The European Commission issued guidance allowing Chinese EV exporters to submit price undertaking offers that could replace or reduce existing countervailing duties, which remain in force until any offer is accepted.
- Offers must remove the injurious effects of subsidies, be practicable, and mitigate cross-compensation, with minimum import prices set per model and configuration using defined methodologies.
- The guidance stresses simple sales channels to ease monitoring and suggests volume commitments or limited durations to curb cross-compensation, while verifiable EU investment pledges can strengthen proposals and breaches can trigger retroactive duties.
- Each offer will be reviewed individually and disclosed for comment before an Implementing Decision; any acceptance requires EU member-state approval under comitology, and the Commission is already reviewing a Volkswagen Cupra Tavascan proposal.
- China’s Commerce Ministry welcomed the move and EU business groups called it a “soft landing,” as Chinese automakers expand European production plans (e.g., BYD in Hungary, XPeng test builds in Austria) and China-made cars reached about 6% of EU sales in the first half of 2025.