One month ago, the European Commission imposed preliminary and higher tariffs on Chinese e-vehicles, arguing that Chinese government subsidies give car manufacturers in the PRC an unfair competitive advantage.

The BBC reports that the new tariffs on individual manufactures range from 17.4 percent to 37.6 percent, a figure on top of the 10 percent duty that was already in place for all e-vehicles imported from China. The tariffs would also affect western firms manufacturing e-vehicles in the PRC.

Triinu Prits, head of foreign trade policy and international economic organizations division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told ERR why the commission had deemed this necessary.

She said: "There is a real risk that the production of electric vehicles in the EU will fall behind due to this unfair support from China."

"In the worst-case scenario, European production might not advance from current development phases to mass production," Prits went on.

She added that while the Estonian state does not doubt the European Commission's investigation findings, it is not convinced that raising tariffs is the optimal solution.

"When there are harmful effects, these certainly need to be addressed, but our preference is for bilateral solutions and negotiations. It is crucial to stay within World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, and to analyze carefully the potential economic and political consequences," Prits went on.

"As is common knowledge, unilateral protection measures can also harm the interests of our own companies and consumers," she added.

The current tariff rise is supposed to be temporary, though member states will need to decide in the fall whether to extend them.

On this, Prits said: "It is also very important that negotiations with China begin, and we should wait for the results of these talks while continuing to assess the economic impacts. Collaboration with EU car manufacturers is especially crucial."

"A week ago, an interim vote among member states took place, in which Estonia remained neutral. Larger countries like France, Italy, Spain, and Poland voted in favor of the tariffs. Germany, whose automotive industry heavily depends on exports to the Chinese market, also remained neutral," Priits said.

Earlier, Germany had warned that China would respond forcefully to European tariffs, causing European car manufacturers to suffer. While Estonia does not have an automotive industry like Germany's, this does not mean that tariffs would not impact Estonia, Prits noted.

She said: "We, too, have subcontractors, importers, car maintenance providers, and consumers. All these stakeholders are connected to the EUs single market. Any political and economic measures, or lack thereof, and potential countermeasures, can lead to very unpredictable consequences."

The Estonian state would prefer that the EU find a middle ground with China.

"Extreme solutions—doing nothing, giving in to blackmail, or slamming doors, so to speak—are rarely ever real solutions," as Prits put it.

Whether successful or not, member states will need to decide in October whether the tariffs will remain in place for a longer period.

Western e-vehicle manufacturers with plants in the PRC include Tesla, which operates a factory in Shanghai.

Beijing has said the tariffs violate global trade rules.

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