As Beijing continues negotiations over an alternative to tariffs, Chinese automakers including BYD, SAIC, and Geely were told at a meeting held by the Ministry of Commerce on Oct. 10 that they should pause their heavy asset investment plans such as factories in countries that backed the proposal, said the people.

The extra tariffs will range from 7.8% for Tesla to 35.3% for SAIC Motor, and stack on top of the 10% standard import duty for cars to the EU.

China renewed warnings to the European Union that if the bloc conducts separate negotiations with electric vehicle companies while in talks with China, that would "shake mutual trust" and interfere with the overall negotiations,