If a surge in government support for strategic industries risks fueling a global subsidy war, then the European Union may have just sparked one of its biggest battles.
With European officials fearing millions of auto jobs are at risk from China’s surging electric vehicle exports, the bloc’s executive arm on Wednesday launched an investigation into Beijing’s financial support for the EV industry.
The probe, which could take up to nine months, will probably lead to new EU tariffs on Chinese EV imports and embroil major non-European automakers like Tesla, which produce cars in China for export to the bloc.