What Brussels found when it probed Chinese subsidies and electric cars

The subsidies pumped by the Chinese government into battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are so distortive that extra tariffs are needed to counteract them.

This is the preliminary conclusion of the European Commission's trade investigation, announced on Wednesday after weeks of mounting speculation. Diplomats and lobbyists had eagerly waited to see how far the executive would go to confront Beijing, a task that, despite its pressing nature, remains divisive among member states.

The muscle-flexing took many by surprise.

The Commission has proposed a robust range of tariffs to even things out: 17.4% for BYD, 20% for Geely and 38.1% for SAIC. The other BEV producers based in China that cooperated in the investigation, including Tesla and BMW, will be subject to a 21% duty. Those that did not cooperate will fall under the 38.1% category.

The tariffs will enter into force on 5 July on a provisional basis. A proposal for permanent measures will come in November and be put to a make-or-break vote.

Wednesday's announcement exceeded industry and experts' expectations of a 20% rate and showcased a firm determination to challenge Beijing's unfair practices, which the bloc had previously excused for the sake of cooperation until it backfired on its face.

The Commission's findings are a damning indictment that appears to be designed to convince skeptics about the urgent need to take hard-hitting action.

"In this particular case, we had no option but to act in the face of soaring imports of heavily subsidised BEVs produced in China and their rising share of this market in the EU," said Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commission's Executive Vice-President.

Here's what has emerged so far.

During the investigation, which began in early October, Commission