China's automobile industry firmly opposes relevant measures under U.S. Inflation Reduction Act

The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, on behalf of China's automobile industry, on Tuesday expressed serious dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the relevant measures under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The chamber said it firmly upholds the legitimate rights and interests of the development of China's new energy vehicle industry, and urges the United States to strictly fulfill its obligations under the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), immediately correct discriminatory subsidy policies, and stop unilateralism and trade bullying practices.

The IRA was signed into law on August 16, 2022. On March 26 this year, China filed a complaint at the WTO dispute settlement mechanism over U.S. subsidies for NEVs under the IRA. With the U.S. side failing to reach a solution with China through consultations, China on Monday requested the WTO to set up an expert panel.

The chamber said it supports the government's request to the WTO to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese NEV industry.

It said that the NEV subsidies under the IRA violate the basic laws of market economy, and are essentially aimed at suppressing the development of China's NEV industry. The measures seriously damaged the fair competition environment of the global new energy automobile industry and the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain, disrupted the international trade order, and impeded the global economic recovery, the chamber noted.

China's NEV industry has achieved significant progress in open competition, enriched global supply and made great contributions to the international energy sector's green transformation and the response to climate change, according to the chamber. The U.S. engages in protectionism and "double-standards" to hinder the free trade of China's NEVs, which will not help its own industrial development, but will undermine global cooperation on climate change, it added.

The discriminatory NEV subsidy measures under the IRA are aimed at supporting the local NEV industrial chain of the United States by suppressing specific countries, the chamber said. In fact, the U.S. electric vehicle market supply and consumer confidence suffered a blow after the release of the act, which has become the biggest obstacle to the realization of the electrification goal, the chamber explained.

"After the IRA took effect, about 80 percent of NEV models on the market did not meet the subsidy requirements, which not only affected the launch of new cars, but also hit consumer confidence," said Sun Xiaohong, secretary general of automotive internationalization professional committee under the chamber.