In response to criticism by the European Commission, China’s biggest automaker SAIC said it has “fully cooperated” with the latest EU anti-subsidy investigation launched by the agency. The state-owned manufacturer, along with peers BYD and Geely, was earlier accused of not supplying sufficient information. The comments come as the Commission warned the three automakers that they had failed to satisfy investigators considering whether the bloc would impose higher import duties on Chinese electric vehicle imports, according to a May 3 report by Reuters. SAIC told Reuters it had complied with World Trade Organization and EU rules, but that “commercially sensitive information – such as battery formulation – should not belong to this category.” The China chapter of the EU Chamber of Commerce said the European Commission had used regulatory powers to lay out a series of demands, including multiple rounds of questionnaires and on-site inspections, and query the companies on sensitive corporate issues related to their supply chain. [Reuters]
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