China’s BYD,Watch Operation Condor Online Geely, and SAIC have filed complaints at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against the European Commission, seeking to avoid the additional tariffs on their electric vehicles that entered into effect last November for five years. No further details of the cases were available, but proceedings at the General Court, the lower of two CJEU chambers, last on average 18 months and can be appealed. The news comes after reports two months ago that Beijing and Brussels were close to reaching a deal that would allow Chinese automakers to sell EVs in the EU above a minimum price, known as a “price undertaking.” The consultations between the two started last September after China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao and EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis held talks in Brussels, but no updates have been announced since. [Reuters]
