EU issues general guidance on how Chinese BEV makers can offer price undertakings in place of anti-subsidy duties

Chinese exporters of battery electric vehicles to the EU now have official guidance on an alternative to the anti-subsidy duties that have applied to their cars since late 2024. On 12 January 2026, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security issued a Guidance Document on the submission of price undertaking offers in the context of the duties on BEVs from China.

A price undertaking, in the EU's trade-remedy vocabulary, is an offer by an exporter to change its pricing behavior so the measure is no longer needed. The guidance is advisory: per the Commission, it provides Chinese exporters of BEVs to the EU with general guidance on the submission of price undertaking offers, without deciding whether any particular offer will be made or accepted.

What the guidance covers

The document covers various aspects to be addressed in a possible undertaking offer. Per the Commission's announcement, these include:

• the minimum import price at which the vehicles could be sold into the EU
• sales channels
• cross-compensation
• future investments in the EU

The Commission also stated how offers will be judged: each price undertaking offer is subject to the same legal criteria, and the Commission said it will conduct each assessment in an objective and fair manner, following the principle of non-discrimination and in accordance with WTO rules.

The duties an undertaking would replace

The backdrop is the definitive countervailing duty regime adopted under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2754, applicable as of 30 October 2024, following an investigation that the Commission said concluded that the BEV value chain in China benefits from unfair government subsidies causing a threat of economic injury to EU BEV producers.

The measures cover new battery electric vehicles designed primarily for the transport of up to nine persons including the driver, excluding vehicles of category L and motorcycles, propelled solely by one or more electric motors, including those with an internal combustion range extender (an auxiliary power unit), currently classified under EU CN code ex 8703 80 10 (TARIC code 8703 80 10 10 10). The duties run for five years at rates set by company group:

• BYD Group: 17.0%
• Geely Group: 18.8%
• SAIC Group: 35.3%
• Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.: 7.8% (upon application for individual examination)
• All other cooperating companies: 20.7%
• All other non-cooperating companies: 35.3%

The duty rates apply through company-specific additional codes, and individual rates depend on a valid commercial invoice carrying a dated declaration (additional code D008 in the import declaration) signed by an official of the entity issuing such invoice, identified by name and function; without such an invoice, the highest duty applicable to all other companies applies.

Why an undertaking route now

The Commission's announcement frames the guidance as a continuation of talks with Beijing. It notes that on 29 October 2024 the Commission finalised the investigation with the imposition of definitive countervailing duties ranging from 7.8% to 35.3%, and that in parallel, and in the spirit of dialogue, the Commission and China have been exploring alternative WTO-compatible solutions. The issuance of the Guidance Document follows the discussions the Commission says it has held with China's Ministry of Commerce since the investigation was ongoing.

For importers and buyers in the EU market, the practical effect at the time of writing is unchanged: the duties as adopted in October 2024 remain in force, and the guidance describes a route that an exporter could take, not a change to the current tariff schedule.

How to check where things stand

• The Commission's news page of 12 January 2026, published in Brussels by the Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, carries the guidance announcement and the subjects it covers; a link to the Guidance Document appears under the page's More information heading.
• The duty rates, product scope and invoice requirements are published in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2754 and summarised on the Commission's Access2Markets news item of 12 December 2024.
• Whether any exporter has made an offer, and whether the Commission has accepted one, would be a separate decision the Commission would need to publish; the guidance does not itself settle that.

Readers can verify the current state of play themselves by checking the Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security's news pages for any subsequent Commission decision on an undertaking offer, and by consulting the Access2Markets pages, which the Commission maintains for importers and exporters, for the duty rates applicable to a specific company code.