EU Steps Up Trade Defenses as Chinese Vehicle, Battery Imports Surge

The European Union is widening its trade defenses as newly released data show rising imports of Chinese vehicles, batteries, and machinery.According to the latest figures from European Union statistical office Eurostat, released Aug. 14, EU imports from China reached 53.9 billion euros ($62.9 billion) in June—up 12.5 percent from a year earlier. EU exports to China were 18.8 billion euros ($21.9 billion), leaving a monthly goods deficit of 35.1 billion euros ($40.9 billion), compared with 31 billion euros ($36.2 billion) a year earlier.The EU has imposed new anti-dumping duties on Chinese tires and polyamide yarns and is monitoring other sectors for possible action.Besides imposing those anti-dumping duties in July, the European Commission has upgraded its import monitoring tool established in 2025 to track sustained import increases and their impact on European industry.The commission said that broader pressure from the increasing imports was associated with industrial overcapacity that it attributed to state-led policies and support measures. It noted separately in its assessment of EU–China trade what it called China’s “distortive industrial policies and practices,” including widespread support for manufacturing.EU imports from China totaled 559.5 billion euros ($652.6 billion) in 2025, compared with 199.5 billion euros ($232.7 billion) in exports. The commission put the goods deficit for the year at 359.9 billion euros ($419.8 billion), describing the relationship as “critically unbalanced.”Some of these import categories, particularly in manufacturing, were identified as sensitive and became subject to EU trade actions. In March, the commission opened a safeguard investigation into imports of specialized silicon steel amid what it called high import pressure, particularly from China. The material is used in power transformers, and the commission described it as “critically important” to the security of the EU’s energy infrastructure.More than half of the manufactured goods the EU imported from China in 2025 were machinery and vehicles. The categories include automobiles, industrial machinery, electrical equipment, and products used throughout European manufacturing and infrastructure.During the first half of this year, according to Eurostat trade data reviewed by The Epoch Times, imports from China across several of Europe’s largest categories of manufactured goods increased. Imports of Chinese electrical machinery and equipment rose 10.2 percent to 85.8 billion euros ($100.1 billion). Vehicles and parts climbed 41 percent to 20.4 billion euros ($23.8 billion), while machinery and mechanical appliances rose 9.1 percent to 58.3 billion euros ($68 billion).Plug-In Hybrid Imports Rise, Unaffected by Existing EV DutiesWithin the vehicle category, Chinese plug-in hybrids have to date been outside the EU’s countervailing duties targeting Chinese battery electric vehicles. But their increasing imports could force Brussels to treat them as a major industrial concern and introduce duties as it did with battery electric vehicles.An automotive action plan by the commission in 2025 identified the EU’s vehicle industry as “a core engine of European prosperity,” accounting for about 1 trillion euros ($1.17 trillion) in GDP and 13 million direct and indirect jobs.But Chinese imports are putting pressure on the sector. EU imports of Chinese plug-in hybrid passenger cars rose from about 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the first half of 2025 to 3.4 billion euros ($4 billion) in the same period this year—an increase of about 162 percent.Imports of Chinese battery electric passenger cars, which are tariffed, rose about 45 percent over the same period, from 3.1 billion euros ($3.6 billion) to 4.4 billion euros ($5.2 billion). Chinese lithium-ion battery imports climbed about 39 percent to 16.4 billion euros ($19.1 billion).The existing EV duties came following a commission investigation in October 2024 that concluded Chinese battery-electric vehicles benefited from Chinese state subsidies that threatened economic injury to European producers. The recommended duties came into force on Oct. 31, 2024.Subsequently, the commission also identified batteries as a key area of competition with China and said the EU was prepared to protect local manufacturers against unfair practices across the EV supply chain, including batteries and parts.German-language newspaper Handelsblatt reported in June, citing senior EU officials and industry sources, that the commission was preparing countervailing duties on Chinese plug-in hybrids. The commission has not publicly announced such an investigation.The Epoch Times has contacted the European Commission for comment.Duties Target Imports Found to Injure EU ProducersThe expanded monitoring sits alongside product-specific cases where the commission says Chinese imports have injured European manufacturers.In July, the commission imposed anti-dumping duties of 4.3 percent to 45.3 percent on Chinese passenger-car and light-lorry tires after finding that products were entering the EU at dumped prices and injuring domestic producers.The EU tire industry employs more than 80,000 people across 14 member states, according to the commission. Chinese imports totaled almost 93 million tires worth more than 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in 2024 and accounted for 28 percent of the EU market. A parallel anti-subsidy investigation covering the same products is due to conclude in December.Later in July, the commission also imposed duties of 60 percent to 67.6 percent on polyamide yarns from China after its investigation found that Chinese imports were being dumped and causing injury to EU producers. The European industry directly employs about 2,000 people in Croatia, Italy, Spain, Romania, and Slovenia, and the EU market is worth about 400 million euros ($466.6 million). The yarns are used in products including sportswear, medical applications, and home furnishings.Bloomberg cited a Goldman Sachs report that estimated that existing and potential EU trade measures could impact products making up 27 percent of China’s annual exports to the bloc. However, Goldman said their actual impact will depend on which measures are adopted and how they are implemented.EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic noted the trade pressures during negotiations with Beijing on June 29, following a meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Brussels. Sefcovic said Chinese exports to the EU continued to rise while European companies’ market share in China was shrinking.“This trend is not sustainable and the status quo is not an option,” he said at the time.The EU has set October as a target for assessing whether negotiations with Beijing have produced tangible results or further trade protections are necessary.Carbon Border Rules Could Impact Costs of Chinese GoodsThe EU is also moving to broaden the range of imported manufactured products subject to its carbon-border system.Its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or CBAM, became active on Jan. 1 and currently covers specified imports of iron and steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, electricity, and hydrogen.For Chinese goods covered under CBAM, EU importers are required to bear a carbon-related cost tied to the emissions generated in production.On June 12, the Council of the European Union agreed to the European Commission’s proposal to extend the CBAM system to selected downstream products containing significant quantities of iron, steel, or aluminum. It also added provisions to prevent circumvention.The Council and European Parliament must agree on the legislation before the expanded scope can take effect.