Opinion | Can Britain really afford to diverge from EU tariffs on Chinese EVs? - South China Morning Post

Adriel KasontaAdriel Kasonta is a London-based political risk consultant and lawyer, and a graduate of London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Published: 4:30pm, 3 Oct 2026The European Union’s demand that Britain raise tariffs on Chinese cars exposes an awkward truth about post-Brexit trade. Britain might have left the EU, but it cannot easily escape the bloc’s industrial policy.

The timing is not accidental. China’s car export machine is accelerating. Its electric vehicle (EV) exports in August rose 33 per cent year on year to more than 284,000, while year-to-date exports as of the end of August were more than 2.1 million, up 53 per cent year on year. Almost 95,000 of those exports went to Europe in August.