EU inspects Tesla Giga Shanghai for individual duty rates

European Union inspectors visited Tesla Giga Shanghai to determine individual duty rates for the company amid Europe’s provisional tariffs on electric vehicle (EV) imports from China. On July 5, 2024, the Commission’s provisional tariffs on China-made EVs took effect. The EU member states have four months to discuss the European Commission’s provisional tariffs and implement them. According to Politico, the European Commission (EC) scheduled a visit to Tesla China’s gigafactory between June 26 and 28. The media outlet noted that the EU inspectors’ visit to Tesla Giga Shanghai was shorter than the weeks they spent inspecting other automakers exported from China during the Commission’s investigation. Tesla’s role in the investigation is noteworthy. The Commission’s document about its probe on China-made EV imports showed that Tesla requested to be included in the sample examined for the investigation. However, the Commission rejected Tesla’s request. In early June, the Commission announced provisional countervailing duties that would take effect in July by guarantee. Individual duties were assigned to the three companies sampled in the investigation: BYD, Geely, and SAIC. Tesla was not sampled because its request was denied. However, during the investigation, it participated in trade proceedings with the Commission and Hearing Officer. As such, it received a lower duty of 20.8%. After the Commission announced its provisional tariff rates in June, it stated that Tesla may receive an individually calculated duty rate, like BYD, Geely, and SAIC.