EUROPEAN Union governments revealed divided views on the merits of EU tariffs on imports of China-built electric vehicles (EVs) in a non-binding but still influential vote, Reuters quoted sources with knowledge of the vote as saying.

The European Commission, which oversees the bloc’s trade policy, has set provisional duties of up to 37.6% on EVs imported from China to counter what it says are unfair subsidies and has enlisted EU member views in a so-called advisory vote.

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) last week urged the EU to base its decisions on facts in its anti-subsidy investigation of Chinese EVs.

He Yongqian, a MOFCOM spokesperson, straightened the fact that China’s competitive EV sector doesn’t survive on subsidies. He also pointed out that both China and the EU can benefit from cooperation instead of adversity, and European automakers don’t root for protectionism.

A dozen EU members voted in support of the tariffs, four voted against and 11 abstained, Reuters reported.

The commission is expected to take this into account when deciding whether to follow up with definitive duties in what is the EU’s highest profile trade case yet.

If it does advocate duties at the end of its investigation, they will come up for a binding vote among the EU members and would be imposed unless a qualified majority of 15 member countries representing 65% of the EU population vote against.

If the voting pattern of the advisory vote were repeated, definitive duties, typically applicable for five years, would then enter force.

However, the large number of abstentions reflects wavering among many EU members.

German carmakers, which made a third of their sales last year in China, have urged the EU to drop tariffs, which would not only apply to Chinese producers such as BYD, Geely and SAIC, but also to China-built cars of Western automakers such as Tesla and BMW.

In the vote, France, Italy and Spain supported the tariffs, while Germany, Finland and Sweden abstained, government sources said.

Sweden’s carmakers have strong ties with Chinese firms, since Volvo has been acquired by China’s Geely Auto. The nation’s trade minister Johan Forssell said that dialogue between the commission and China to find a solution would be very important.

The commission will continue its investigation for another three months.

Hungary voted against the tariffs, as BYD has invested in the country to build facilities to manufacture EVs.

The European Commission has signaled that it may consider a lower tariff for BMW’s China-made electric Mini and Volkswagen’s Cupra Tavascan, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

China’s new energy vehicle export rose 13.2% to 605,000 units in the first half of the year from a year earlier, according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

(SD-Agencies)