China deems EU tariffs on Chinese EVs unacceptable

China views the European Union's decision to impose anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) as unacceptable and a serious violation of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, according to He Yadong, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

He stated that many actions taken by the EU during the anti-subsidy probe are unreasonable and do not adhere to regulations, which China has actively defended against. The spokesman said the Chinese side has submitted various comments and evidence, which the EU has not fully considered.

"We have noticed that the tax rate in the final decision was adjusted compared to the preliminary decision made in July. However, the EU has not fundamentally changed its wrongful actions. The outcome deviates from WTO rules and fails to address the major concerns of both Chinese and European industries. China finds this decision unacceptable," said He.

The spokesman also emphasized that China supports and encourages normal trade and economic cooperation between the Chinese and European auto industries, aiming for mutual benefits and win-win results through open collaboration under a market-based system.

China has engaged with relevant countries in the electric vehicle sector through trade, investment, and technology, striving to sustain the global automotive industrial chain and stabilize the supply chain, He said, noting that the country is committed to green and low-carbon transformation and is actively responding to climate change.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation EU, announced on Tuesday that it had concluded its anti-subsidy investigation and decided to impose a definitive countervailing duty on imports of new battery EVs from China for a period of five years.

The sampled Chinese companies will be subject to different countervailing duties, specifically, 17.0 percent on BYD, 18.8 percent on Geely, and 35.3 percent on SAIC.

China deems EU tariffs on Chinese EVs unacceptable

China deems EU tariffs on Chinese EVs unacceptable

The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday announced that it would keep key interest rates unchanged amid tentative signs of economic stabilization in the eurozone.

The central bank reconfirmed in the latest edition of their forecast that inflation will swing around 2 percent from 2025 to 2028, with headline average inflation estimated at 2.1 percent in 2025, 1.9 percent in 2026, 1.8 percent in 2027, and 2.0 percent in 2028.

The interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations, and the marginal lending facility will remain unchanged at 2 percent, 2.15 percent, and 2.4 percent, respectively.

The ECB repeated in a statement that it is "not pre-committing to a particular rate path".

The projections reconfirm "inflation should stabilize at the 2 percent target in the medium term," said the ECB statement.

Thanks to stronger consumption and investment, the euro zone economy grew by 0.3 percent in the third quarter. The ECB expects domestic demand to continue to drive up the economic growth in the euro zone in the coming years.

Forecast of the euro zone economic growth has been revised up to 1.4 percent in 2025, 1.2 percent in 2026, 1.4 percent in 2027 and 1.4 percent in 2028.

The "robust labor market", according to the ECB, also contributed to the economic growth in the third quarter. Unemployment rate stood at 6.4 percent in October, which was close to the historical low.

ECB keeps rates unchanged