Europe lays ground for trade war against Chinese electric cars

"We have not forgotten how China's unfair trade practices affected our solar industry," she said. "Many young businesses were pushed out by heavily subsidised Chinese competitors. Pioneering companies had to file for bankruptcy. Promising talents went searching for fortune abroad." The EU slapped tariffs on Chinese manufacturers of photovoltaic cells in 2012, but ended up backing down because its own industry could not keep up with demand. Ms von der Leyen acknowledged that "global competition is good for business, and it creates and protects good jobs here in Europe". But she said this competition had to be "fair". "Too often,…