China makes a $1 billion deal with Turkey to build EVs in Turkey circumventing EU tariffs imposed on Chinese electric cars.
Turkey imposes tariffs on solar panels when it hurts its local economy but it speaks from the other side of its mouth when it stiffs Europe by helping China evade high tariffs on electric vehicles sold in Europe.
China evades tariffs through a $1B car factory it is building in Turkey. Meanwhile Volkswagen is seeing 3 factories shut down and 30,000 people laid off.
Keep Europe European
According to the Turkish General Directorate of Imports as of September 27, Energy Trend is reporting that Turkey has imposed a tariff of $25 per square meter on photovoltaic modules imported from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia, and Jordan. But exemptions have been made for JinkoSolar’s Malaysian subsidiary, JA Solar’s Vietnamese subsidiary, Trina Solar’s Thai subsidiary, and Vina Solar, a Vietnamese module manufacturer acquired by Longi Green Energy a few years ago.
On November 25, 2023, Turkey’s Ministry of Trade announced that, at the request of Turkish companies, it had launched an anti-circumvention investigation into photovoltaic modules originating from China. The investigation seeks to determine whether Chinese products are being exported to Turkey via Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia, and Jordan to evade anti-dumping duties.
Turkey suspects that some companies from these five countries are using “transshipment” to circumvent the previously imposed $20 per square meter countervailing duty on Chinese photovoltaic products. After months of review, the Turkish government decided in March this year to impose a new tariff of $25 per square meter on photovoltaic products imported from these countries, a 25% increase over the previous tariff.
This is rich considering that Turkey is helping China circumvent EV trade tariffs as together China and Turkey build a $1B Chinese EV company, BYD, on its soil so that China and Turkey can both profit from EU electric vehicle tariff exemptions. Currently any China-made electric car would see a high tariff and tax if it gets sold in Europe – which does not make them a viable purchase in Europe. Meanwhile Volkswagen is laying off employees in Germany because of the lowered costs of cars coming from Asian countries like China.
Volkswagen is seeing 30,00 layoffs and the closure of three factories: “This is the plan of Germany’s largest industrial group to start the sell-off in its home country of Germany,” Cavallo added, not specifying which plants would be affected or how many of Volkswagen Group’s roughly 300,000 staff in Germany could be laid off.
Turkey is not part of the EU for a reason. It is playing dirty against Western values with Iran, Syria and China and its dealings with Chinese businesses to avoid EU tariffs should be investigated. Trump as the new US president will probably restructure this unholy alliance, but not before the quality of life in Europe crumbles further from globalism.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
