BRUSSELS, July 4 (Reuters) - The European Union will

impose tariffs of up to 37.6% from Friday on imports of electric

vehicles made in China, EU officials said on Thursday,

ratcheting up trade tension with Beijing.

There is however a four-month window during which the

tariffs are only provisional and intensive talks are expected to

continue between the two sides.

The European Commission's provisional duties of between

17.4% and 37.6% without backdating are designed to prevent what

its president Ursula von der Leyen has said is a threatened

flood of cheap EVs built state subsidies.

The rates are almost exactly the same as those announced by

the Commission on June 12. The executive made slight adjustments

after companies identified minor calculation errors in the

initial disclosure.

Beijing said then it would take "all necessary measures" to

safeguard China's interests.

These could include retaliatory tariffs on exports to China

of products such as cognac or pork.

The EU anti-subsidy investigation has nearly four more

months to run.

At the end of it, the Commission, the EU's executive arm,

could propose "definite duties", typically applying for five

years, on which EU members would vote.

China's commerce ministry said on Thursday both sides have

so far held several rounds of technical talks over tariffs on

the issue.

"There is still a four-month window before arbitration, and

we hope that the European and Chinese sides will move in the

same direction, show sincerity, and push forward with the

consultation process as soon as possible," He Yadong, a ministry

spokesperson, said.

BYD will face duties of 17.4%, Geely

19.9% and SAIC 37.6%, the EU said on Thursday. These are on top

of the EU's standard 10% duty on car imports.

Companies deemed by the EU to have cooperated with the

anti-subsidy investigation, including western carmakers Tesla

and BMW, will be subject to 20.8% tariffs and

those that did not cooperate a rate of 37.6%.

The Commission has estimated Chinese brands' share of the EU

market has risen to 8% from below 1% in 2019 and could reach 15%

in 2025. It says prices are typically 20% below those of EU-made

models.

European policymakers are keen to avoid a repeat of what

happened with solar panels a decade ago, when the EU took only

limited action to curb Chinese imports and many European

manufacturers collapsed. The EU launched its anti-subsidy

investigation into Chinese EVs last October.

The Chinese Passenger Car Association has said the tariffs

will have only a modest impact on the majority of Chinese firms.

The rates are far lower than the 100% tariff Washington

plans to apply to Chinese EV imports from August.