No 10 Keeps Door Open to Chinese EV Tariffs in EU Scheme

No 10 has left the door open to imposing tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of the EU's Made in Europe package — a step Beijing immediately branded "discriminatory".

The signal came from Downing Street on Friday. A spokesperson said the UK government would "welcome the objective to have the UK included in the Industrial Accelerator Act", the legislative vehicle behind the Made in Europe package.

The timing matters. France had until now blocked Britain's participation in the scheme. That opposition was dropped, as reported on October 15, clearing the path for London to negotiate its way into one of Brussels' flagship industrial programmes. One day later, No 10 signaled its interest — and China's embassy fired back.

What does this change for automakers?

For practitioners in the auto sector, the open question is straightforward: if the UK joins the Industrial Accelerator Act, does London adopt the EU's protective tariff architecture on Chinese-built EVs?

No 10 hasn't committed either way. The phrase "left the door open" is doing real work here. It means ministers haven't ruled out mirroring the EU's approach to Chinese electric vehicles, but they haven't promised it either. That ambiguity is the story.

For Chinese manufacturers exporting to Britain, the stakes are clear. Tariffs would raise the landed cost of their EVs in a market that has so far stayed outside the EU's tariff wall. For UK-based manufacturers and importers, alignment with the Made in Europe framework could reshape sourcing decisions — and for buyers, it could move sticker prices on entry-level Chinese EVs that have undercut European rivals on cost.

Why Beijing reacted so fast

Beijing's warning that tariffs would be "discriminatory" landed within hours of No 10's statement. China has framed the EU's existing measures against its EV industry as protectionism, and any British move toward the same toolkit draws the same response.

The diplomatic context is tense on two fronts at once. Britain is negotiating entry into a European industrial scheme — a piece of post-Brexit economic reintegration — while weighing a trade measure aimed at Beijing. Doing both simultaneously gives London leverage with each side, but also exposure to both.

What comes next

France's decision to drop its opposition, reported October 15, removed the political blocker in Paris. The remaining steps are procedural and substantive: formal UK inclusion in the Industrial Accelerator Act, then the separate decision on whether British tariffs on Chinese-made EVs follow.

Watch for two things. First, whether No 10 converts its "welcome" for inclusion into a signed commitment. Second, whether the tariff option moves from "open door" to actual policy — the point at which Beijing's "discriminatory" warning gets tested against real duties at the border.