China approaches WTO over EU tariffs on electric vehicles

China took recourse to the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization on Friday in response to the European Union's temporary anti-subsidy measures on Chinese-made batter electric vehicles, the Ministry of Commerce said.

The EU's preliminary ruling lacks factual and legal basis, violates WTO rules, and undermines global cooperation efforts in combating climate change, the ministry spokesperson said.

The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, decided in early July that provisional tariffs of up to 37.6 percent will be slapped on Chinese-made battery EVs.

The decision to bring this matter to the WTO is to safeguard the development rights of the EV industry and promote global green transformation cooperation, the spokesperson said.

"We urge the EU to rectify its erroneous actions promptly, in order to jointly uphold the stability of China-EU economic and trade cooperation and the industrial and supply chain integrity within the EV sector," the spokesperson said.

The tariffs will remain in place until a final decision is taken in November. When adopted, this decision would make the duties definitive for five years.