In a move which underscores an effort by the European Union (EU) to clamp down on the dumping of Chinese electric bicycles (e-bikes) in Europe, new tariffs have been imposed on e-bikes imported from China.

The European Union’s implementation of new tariffs on China-produced e-bikes has come after a fairly long review period. For determining the amount of new tariffs levied on Chinese e-bike companies and the proper course of action for levying the tariffs, the European Commission visited several Chinese e-bike companies, including Bodo, Giant, Suzhou Rununion and Jinhua Vision.

The tariffs being levied by the EU on Chinese e-bikes will range between 21.8 percent and 83.6 percent, and will be assessed specifically for the different Chinese companies which export their e-bikes to the European markets. In most cases, the tariff to be paid by Chinese e-bikes companies will be 37 percent.

The move by the EU to impose new tariffs on Chinese e-bikes exports is apparently an outcome of the fact that the market share of Chinese e-bikes in Europe has increased by three times, to 35 percent, during the 2014-2017 period.

E-bike manufacturers in Europe have been complaining since long that unfair business practices occurring in China -- in the form of cheap labor, subsidized materials and low profit margins -- have made it difficult for them to compete with low-cost Chinese e-bikes.