EU warns of ‘possible’ Chinese retaliation over electric car probe

The EU’s anti-subsidy investigation could lead to higher tariffs on Chinese imports such as those by carmaker BYD

The EU’s anti-subsidy investigation into China’s electric-car industry could provoke retaliatory measures from Beijing, senior EU officials have warned, even as the bloc’s ministers said the probe was crucial for safeguarding trade rules.

“We have to address this issue seriously,” Paolo Gentiloni, the EU’s economy commissioner, told reporters at a two-day meeting of EU finance ministers in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. “I think there’s no specific reason for retaliation [from Beijing], but retaliation is always possible.”