What are the stakes of the EU's imposition of anti-subsidy measures on Chinese electric vehicles?

Details

Supervisors

Defraigne, Jean-Christophe

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master de spécialisation en entreprises et politiques économiques européennes

Abstract

enThis thesis examines the strategic, economic, political, and social stakes of the European Union's imposition of countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles. The study demonstrates the European Union's vulnerability in this sector and the ability of Chinese manufacturers to easily absorb these protectionist barriers through their margins or to circumvent them by establishing themselves directly on European territory. These taxes also have the effect of worsening the internal political division among Member States. The results reveal that Chinese competitiveness rests on a sustainable structural advantage that goes beyond simple state aid. As taxes only constitute a temporary shield, the Union should rapidly adopt a centralized industrial policy and impose strict local content requirements to give its industry time to develop in order to preserve its automotive sovereignty.