It’s in the area of clean tech where the EU is most fervently...

It’s in the area of clean tech where the EU is most fervently fighting to stave off competition from cheap Chinese imports of everything from EVs to solar panels. An industry backlash has raised concerns that its domestic green technologies could be hijacked during the transition to net-zero by the middle of the century.

Over the past decade, China has come to dominate the market for clean tech, with domestic industries buoyed by massive support from the state. Take the wind sector as an example. Companies are able to sell products on average 20% lower than European and US peers, backed by deferred payments systems. The EU has a trade balance deficit of €462 million last year, according to the commission.

The EU said last month that it had found “sufficient evidence” that the imports of new battery electric vehicles from China received subsidies including direct transfer of funds, tax breaks, or public provision of good or services below market prices. This means the bloc could introduce provisional tariffs on Chinese imports by July, with definitive duties hitting by November.

The EU is also using a new tool — its foreign subsidies regulation — to crack down on bidding from Beijing for a railway tender in Bulgaria, as well as solar parks in Romania. Vestager last week announced an early-stage probe of Chinese involvement in wind parks in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria.

“We are using our trade tools and our tools that come with the foreign subsidies regulation in full in order to restore fair competition,” Vestager said.

The bloc has also started surveying its industry about the use of Chinese legacy chips, which could see action taken in future against older — but widely used — semiconductors.

The investigations are part of a concerted EU drive to keep global markets open and based on rules, protect supply lines and bring production closer to home. The moves have tested relations with Beijing, which has launched its own investigations into EU trade practices.