Consumers in Europe may face higher prices for electric vehicles made in China after tariffs on the cars came into effect on Wednesday as part of an effort by European leaders to create what they call a level playing field for domestic auto companies.

随着欧盟对中国生产的电动汽车征收的关税于周三生效，欧洲消费者购买这些汽车时可能会面临更高的价格。征税是欧盟领导人所谓为国内车企创造公平竞争环境努力的一部分。

The higher tariffs stem from an investigation the European Union started into subsidies provided by Beijing that helped carmakers in China produce and sell electric vehicles, giving them a competitive edge over their European rivals.

提高关税源于欧盟对北京补贴做法所做的调查，这些补贴帮助中国汽车制造商生产和销售电动汽车，从而使它们比欧洲竞争对手更具竞争优势。

Chinese automakers, already forced out of the U.S. market because of tariffs levied against them there, have called the E.U. tariffs “protectionist” and “arbitrary,” arguing that their economies of scale have led to the rapid development of electric vehicle production.

因美国征收关税，中国汽车制造商已被迫退出该市场，它们称欧盟的关税是“保护主义”和“武断的”措施，并指出是规模经济推动了它们电动汽车生产的快速发展。

The new tariffs, which come on top of existing import duties of 10 percent, vary based on the amount of subsidies each automaker in China received, starting at 7.8 percent for Tesla and go up to 35.3 percent for SAIC Motor of Shanghai. They are to remain in place for five years.

新关税是在现有的10%进口关税的基础上加征的，具体数额取决于中国各家车企获得的补贴数额，特斯拉新关税为7.8%，上海上汽集团的关税最高，为35.3%。这些关税将持续五年。

How will tariffs protect European carmakers?

关税将如何保护欧洲汽车制造商？

The automotive sector is crucial to Europe, employing 13.8 million people and accounting for 7 percent of the overall E.U. economic output. But Europe’s automakers were slow to develop battery and gasoline-electric hybrid technologies for cars, instead spending decades focusing on trying to make diesel-fired combustion engines more efficient.

汽车行业对欧洲至关重要，提供了1380万个就业岗位，占欧盟整体经济产出的7%。但欧洲车企在开发油电混合动力技术方面进展缓慢，而是花了几十年时间专注于提高柴油内燃机的效率。

Only after Volkswagen was found to be cheating on its emissions in 2015 did the European automakers shift their focus to battery technology in earnest. By that time, Chinese car companies, including those like BYD that began as battery producers, had been working on electric cars for years.

直到2015年大众汽车尾气排放造假曝光后，欧洲汽车制造商才开始转而认真关注电池技术。那时，中国车企（包括比亚迪等以电池生产商起家的公司）已经研发电动汽车多年。

The United States and Canada have both imposed 100 percent tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, but European leaders said they aim to slow imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, rather than stop them altogether.

美国和加拿大都已对中国生产的电动汽车征收100%的关税，但欧洲领导人表示，他们的目标是减缓中国电动汽车的进口，而不是完全停止。

“Europe doesn’t want to hamper its own electric vehicle green transition by making Chinese cars prohibitively expensive,” said Emre Peker, a London-based director for Europe at the Eurasia Group, a private consulting firm.

“欧洲不想让中国汽车的价格过高，从而阻碍其自身的电动汽车绿色转型。”私人咨询公司欧亚集团驻伦敦的欧洲地区总监埃姆雷·佩克尔表示。

The market share of Chinese-made electric vehicles in the European Union has jumped to more than 20 percent from around 3 percent three years ago, according to ACEA, a European auto industry group. A failure to impose tariffs would have resulted in significant job losses in Europe, a senior European official said this week.

欧洲汽车工业组织欧洲汽车制造商协会(ACEA)的数据显示，中国制造的电动汽车在欧盟的市场份额已从三年前的3%左右跃升至20%以上。一位欧洲高级官员本周表示，如果不征收关税，将在欧洲导致大规模失业。

A senior European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity per diplomatic practice, said the tariffs were critical for protecting the European auto industry.

一位依照外交惯例匿名发言的欧洲高级外交官表示，关税对于保护欧洲汽车业至关重要。

What Europe’s carmakers say about the tariffs.

欧洲车企如何看待这些关税

European carmakers opposed the tariffs, with several countries, including Germany, home to BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, having voted against them. German carmakers have large investments in China and are concerned that the Chinese will retaliate.

欧洲汽车制造商反对关税，包括宝马、梅赛德斯-奔驰和大众汽车的总部所在地德国在内的几个国家都投了反对票。德国汽车制造商在中国有大量投资，他们担心中国会进行报复。

Volkswagen has argued it was more important to maintain free and open markets than to seek to dampen competition.

大众汽车表示，维护自由开放的市场比试图抑制竞争更加重要。

“Under a tariffs regime, an industry only loses time,” Arno Antlitz, Volkswagen’s financial chief, told reporters in a call on Wednesday. The Chinese automakers “will sell cars from within Europe, he said.”

“在关税制度下，行业只能是浪费时间，”大众汽车首席财务官阿诺·安特利茨周三在电话采访中对记者说。他表示，中国汽车制造商“将从欧洲内部销售汽车”。

Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Stellantis, which owns more than a dozen brands including Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot and Ram, has also called the tariffs counterproductive.

斯特兰蒂斯首席执行官卡洛斯·塔瓦雷斯也表示这些关税将适得其反，该公司拥有克莱斯勒、菲亚特、吉普、标致和道奇公羊等十多个品牌。

“There should be no mistake these short-term actions will have negative mid- and long-term implications,” Mr. Tavares said. “The best way — the only way — to protect ourselves, our industries, our workers is to compete with the newcomers and raise ourselves to their game.”

“毫无疑问，这些短期行动将产生中长期的负面影响，”塔瓦雷斯说。“保护我们自己、我们的行业和我们的工人的最佳方式——也是唯一的方式——就是与新来者竞争，并提高自己以适应他们的竞争水平。”

How China has responded.

中国如何回应

Chinese officials had hoped to avoid the tariffs, which they have called unfair. They have since charged that European producers of brandy, pork and dairy have dumped exports in China at low prices in violation of global trade rules.

中国官员曾希望能避免这些他们称之为不公平的关税。他们后来指控欧洲白兰地、猪肉和奶制品生产商以低价向中国倾销出口产品，违反了全球贸易规则。

Lin Jian, spokesman for China’s foreign affairs ministry, said on Wednesday that the European Union’s move would hurt the cooperation between the two sides, as well as Europe’s efforts to address climate change.

中国外交部发言人林剑周三表示，欧盟此举将损害双方合作，以及欧洲应对气候变化的努力。

“This is a typical act of trade protectionism,” Mr. Lin said.

“是典型的贸易保护主义行为，”林剑说。

China’s auto industry has suggested that its government impose tariffs on large gasoline-powered cars imported from the European Union in retaliation.

中国汽车行业建议政府对从欧盟进口的大型汽油动力汽车征收关税作为报复。

What happens next?

接下来会发生什么？

The European Commission said that talks with China over a solution to the dispute would continue. The two sides have met eight times over the past year. But European officials say “significant remaining gaps” still exist.

欧盟委员会表示，将继续与中国就解决争端进行谈判。双方在过去一年中进行了八次会面。但欧盟官员表示，双方仍然存在“重大分歧”。

European leaders said they were open to negotiating with individual car companies to set an agreed base price at which they could sell their cars in Europe. It was not immediately clear which companies would be involved in such talks.

欧洲领导人表示，他们愿意与各家汽车公司进行谈判，设定在欧洲销售汽车的协议底价。目前还不清楚哪些公司将参与此类谈判。

Some Chinese automakers, such as BYD, have responded to the tariffs by setting up factories within the European Union or Turkey, which is within the European free trade zone. Leapmotor, another Chinese automaker, entered into a joint venture with Stellantis — owner of the French brands Peugeot and Citroen, in addition to Jeep and Chrysler in the United States — which will allow the company to produce its electric models in factories in Europe.

一些中国车企（如比亚迪）已通过在欧盟或位于欧洲自由贸易区的土耳其设立工厂来应对关税。另一家中国汽车制造商零跑汽车与斯特兰蒂斯（法国品牌标致和雪铁龙，以及美国品牌吉普和克莱斯勒的所有者）成立了合资企业，这将使该公司能够在欧洲的工厂生产电动车型。