China files WTO complaint against U.S.' discriminatory EV subsidy policies

China filed a complaint to the World Trade Organization against the United States Inflation Reduction Act on Tuesday to protect the interests of its electric vehicle companies and ensure fair competition in the global EV industry, said the Ministry of Commerce.

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and its implementing regulations, which claim to "address climate change" and "promote low-carbon environmental protection", have enacted discriminatory subsidy policies targeting EVs. These policies stipulate that subsidies are contingent on the use of products from specific regions, such as the U.S., effectively excluding products from China and other WTO members, said the ministry's spokesperson in an online statement.

This has distorted fair competition and severely disrupted the global EV industrial and supply chains. China firmly opposes these measures, which violate WTO rules on treatment of nations and most-favored-nation treatment, said the commerce official.

China is committed to defending the rules-based multilateral trading system and respects the legitimate rights of WTO members to implement industrial subsidies within the framework of rules to promote their economic and social development, according to the ministry's statement.

The Ministry of Commerce has urged the U.S. to comply with the WTO rules, respect the development trend of the EV industry in the world, and promptly correct its discriminatory industrial policies to maintain stability in the global EV industry and supply chains.