No 10 Leaves Open Chinese EV Tariffs to Join EU Scheme — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- No 10 said it was "premature to speculate" on whether the UK would align with EU tariffs on Chinese EVs to join the Made in Europe package, but stressed Britain "keeps all tariffs under review"
- China's embassy in London said it was "firmly opposed to any discriminatory practice" involving tariff hikes on Chinese products and had raised "serious concern" with the UK
- A Franco-German proposal would require the UK to accept "dynamic alignment" with the EU's 2024 tariffs on Chinese EVs as the price of joining, after France dropped its opposition
- Chinese EV sales in the UK surged sharply in September, with BYD up 78%, Chery up 660%, and Changan up more than 3,000% in market share year-on-year
- Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the UK would not be "coerced" into aligning with the EU's China policy, while Trade Minister Anas Sarwar told Politico the UK and EU must "act in lockstep" on Chinese automotive dominance
- Liam Byrne, Labour chair of the parliamentary business committee, called tariffs "a small price to pay" to save the UK and EU auto industry and said the government lacks a coherent China strategy
- EU lawmakers have tabled 5,100 amendments to the Industrial Accelerator Act, which is expected to be finalised by the end of the year or early 2027
Why it matters: With 80% of UK-made cars exported and 6% going to China, aligning with EU tariffs creates real retaliation risk in a market that already absorbs meaningful British volumes, yet declining to join could lock UK supply chains out of the bloc's EV sector. The split between Reynolds resisting "coercion" and Sarwar signaling alignment shows the government has not resolved whether to protect domestic industry from subsidized Chinese imports or preserve independent trade policy toward Beijing.
Ask SkimNews
