The Financial Times: The EU is preparing to require that electric vehicles must have 70% of their parts made domestically to qualify for subsidies

According to today's report from the UK's Financial Times, in order to save its domestic manufacturing industry, the EU is planning to implement the following regulations: electric vehicles must have at least 70% of their components made in the EU to qualify for subsidies; additionally, aluminum products used in the construction industry must have 25% made in the EU, and window and door plastics must have 30% made in the EU to qualify for subsidies.

Comment: The new regulation requiring that electric vehicles must have 70% of their components manufactured domestically to receive subsidies is essentially a high-profile act of industrial protectionism, promoting a "Europe-first" trade barrier. On the surface, it claims to support the domestic manufacturing industry and ensure supply chain security, but in reality, it distorts market competition through administrative barriers and opposes global industrial division of labor. This is a direct response to the competitiveness of Chinese electric vehicles and violates the principles of free trade. In the long run, it will increase car manufacturers' costs and consumers' vehicle prices, thus hindering the progress of the green transition. It is a typical example of replacing competitiveness with protectionism.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1857439028150539/

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