Turkey has gone ahead of the European Union (EU) and by surprise announced this Saturday a 40% increase in tariffs on vehicle imports from China in an attempt to stop trade exchanges and reduce the current account deficit. of the Eurasian country.
The decision, which will come into force within thirty days, contemplates the minimum imposition of a tariff of 7,000 dollars (about 6,742 euros) per vehicle, as contemplated in the presidential decision signed by the country’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, published in the Official Gazette. Turkish.
Ankara raised tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2023 to support the country’s first domestically produced electric vehicle, the Togg, made by a consortium of five large local companies, in collaboration with the Union of Chambers of Commerce and Product Markets Turkish Basics.
Put pressure on the Chinese car
The tariff strategy on which Turkey’s automobile industry pivots towards China joins the reluctance that also arises in the United States and Europe in the face of the emergence of the Asian giant’s car brands.
In the case of The United States will apply the increase in tariffs from 25% to 100% for the import of electric vehicles from China from next August 1, when the increases in the purchase of batteries, microchips for the technology industry and medical products will also come into effect, in accordance with the public intentions of the office of the US Trade Representative US
In Europe, the imposition of tariffs is planned once the community elections take place this Sunday. At the moment, the calculations that have been published estimate that the impact of these trade obstacles with China could cost Beijing almost 4 billion dollars (more than 3.6 billion euros).
Consequently, the number of Chinese electric vehicles imported into the EU would be reduced by a quarter – about 125,000 cars – if Brussels imposed a 20% tariff, according to the data offered in the latest analysis of the world economy by the Kiel Institute.
At the moment, China has not officially announced any retaliation, although Beijing has indicated that it is willing to impose tariffs of up to 25% to imported cars with large displacement engines, which would affect, above all, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Electric vehicles made by Chinese brands such as MG and BYD accounted for just under 9% of battery vehicles sold in Europe in 2023, according to Dataforce. Although this figure is expected to increase to approximately a fifth of the old continent’s market share by 2027, according to Transport & Environment estimates.
Add Comment