In a meeting held today in Brussels, it appears that a majority of the member states in the Trade Defence Instruments’ Committee has backed the Commission’s proposal to impose up to 79.3% duties on electric bicycles imported from China.

LEVA-EU Manager Annick Roetynck responded:  “We haven’t yet received detailed information on the outcome, but it’s highly regrettable that a majority of Member States seems to have voted in favour of duties. There is no injury to European “manufacturers”. A closer look at the market shows that these manufacturers, many of which import components from China at a very large scale, are thriving. These duties are nothing but protectionism and will seriously damage over ~150 European SMEs and penalize millions of European citizens. Last week, in two different letters to the Commission, 60 importing SMEs, supported by 27 other European companies in the business as well as four MEPs from different political parties appealed to Commissioner Malmstrom to reconsider the duties, arguing they went against Union interest.”

Annick Roetynck also explained that once the Commission’s Regulation is published, LEVA-EU will consult with the EU importers on the next steps. Potential measures will open the door to anti-circumvention, which would cause even more damage to the European electric bike business. She concluded: “This does not exactly herald a happy new year.“