A World Trade Organization panel ruled on Tuesday that Turkey’s additional 40 percent tariff on electric vehicles imported from China, along with duties on some hybrid vehicles and discriminatory import requirements, violated global trade rules.

China launched the case in October 2024 after Turkey imposed the additional tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. Beijing also challenged duties on other types of vehicles and an import licensing system requiring importers to meet after-sales service conditions.

The panel found that the electric vehicle duties exceeded the tariff limits Turkey had committed to under the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and subjected Chinese vehicles to less favorable treatment.

It also ruled that duties on some hybrid vehicles violated the agreement but rejected some of China’s claims concerning other hybrid and internal combustion vehicles.

The panel found that Turkey’s import licensing requirements discriminated against Chinese electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by treating them less favorably than comparable Turkish-made vehicles.

Turkey claimed that the tariffs supported environmental objectives and that the licensing requirements helped enforce consumer protection rules. The panel found that Ankara had failed to demonstrate that the measures qualified for exemptions under WTO rules.

Either side may appeal the ruling. However, the WTO’s Appellate Body has been unable to hear cases since late 2019 because the United States has blocked the appointment of new judges.

The ruling does not immediately require Turkey to remove the measures. The panel report must first be adopted through the WTO dispute settlement process unless it is appealed.

Agence France-Presse with additional reporting by Turkish Minute