EU formally starts probe into Chinese electric cars subsidies

The European Union said Wednesday that it had “sufficient evidence” of illegal Chinese electric car subsidies as it officially launched an inquiry that has enraged Beijing. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen raised hackles in China when she announced last month that Brussels would start an anti-subsidy investigation. Some fear the European Union’s action could lead to a trade war after Beijing warned the probe would harm trade relations between the two sides. “The Commission is in possession of sufficient evidence tending to show the existence of subsidisation, threat of injury and causal link required for the initiation of…