The European Commission, the main executive body of the EU, has imposed extra “anti-subsidy” duties on Chinese mobile access equipment such as forklifts, scissor lifts and boom lifts.

Ranging from 7.3% to 14.2%, the tariffs will “level the playing field”, the Commission said.

Combined with previous anti-dumping and countervailing duties, the new measure brings tariffs levied on such equipment to between 20.6% and 66.7%.

The Commission said measures would help shield the EU’s mobile access industry from “unfair trading practices”.

The EU says that the mobile access industry is worth €1bn per year and employs 3,000 across member states.

The commission said its investigation has uncovered unfair Chinese subsidies, including preferential financing, tax reductions, and below-fair-value land use rights.

These practices have made it hard for EU companies to compete against Chinese imports, leading to market share losses, the Commission said.

Between 2020 to 2022, the commission found that the EU’s share fell from 52% to 38%, while Chinese exports increased from 29% to 41%.

As part of the study, the EU investigated the premises of Haulotte, Manitou, Sinoboom and Zoomlion.

Last year, the EU imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports by as much as 45%, as reported by Reuters.

It currently imposes duties on over 70 imported Chinese products.

In 2024, the EU announced it would investigate Chinese state-owned train manufacturer CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which was launched in July.