UK rejects European pressure to tax Chinese electric vehicles

Britain will not impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said, dismissing European demands to align with EU trade rules.

• Reynolds said British trade-defence decisions will be based on UK national interest, not on requests from other countries.
• The EU has imposed tariffs of up to 45.3% on Chinese electric cars and last Friday approved an annual quota of 350,000 Chinese hybrid vehicles.
• Reynolds said the UK hosts no major Chinese manufacturer and is not serving as a back door into the European single market.
• The UK-EU summit was confirmed for Brussels on 20 November.