BRUSSELS, July 4 (Reuters) - EU regulators will impose

provisional duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs)

imported into the European Union from Friday, without

backdating, they said, risking retaliation from Beijing.

The European Commission, which oversees EU trade policy,

announced duties of between 17.4% and 37.6%, almost the same as

those disclosed in June. The executive made adjustments after

companies identified minor calculation errors in the initial

disclosure.

These are on top of the EU's standard 10% tariff for car

imports.

WHAT ARE PROVISIONAL MEASURES?

Provisional duties can be imposed for a maximum of nine

months after the start of an EU anti-subsidy investigation if

the Commission concludes it needs to prevent injury to EU

industry.

They can be applied for up to four months, by which point

the Commission will decide whether to apply final duties, known

as definitive duties. In the EV case, the deadline for this is

Nov. 2.

Provisional duties are only collected if definitive duties

are imposed at the end of the investigation. If definitive

duties are lower or not applied, then provisional duties are

adjusted down accordingly. Until then, customs authorities

normally just require a bank guarantee from importers.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The European Commission has held technical talks with

Chinese officials and said that any negotiated outcome must

effectively address the injurious subsidies.

After the announcement of provisional duties in the EU

official journal, detailing the ongoing investigation and its

findings, interested parties such as China and EV producers have

until July 18 to comment. They can also request a hearing.

The Commission already visited more than 100 sites of

automakers in China and Europe and done the bulk of its

investigation.

Its final report generally reads as a confirmation of its

provisional findings, with possible adjustments following

comments received.

Definitive duties are often a little lower than the

provisional rates, reflecting an acceptance of some of these

arguments.

One new element will be Tesla's request the

Commission calculate a separate duty rate for it.

The largest EV exporter from China to Europe will want to

have a lower rate than the 20.8% for companies that have

cooperated with the investigation, a group it is in.

As an alternative to duties, exporters can commit to selling

their products at or above a minimum price. Chinese exporters

agreed such an undertaking in the case of solar panels a decade

ago. However, cars are not commodities, so it is hard to see how

a minimum price could be applied.

WHO DECIDES?

At the provisional stage, the Commission has full power to

impose duties, although it consults EU members and is supposed

to take their positions into account. They are to submit their

positions by July 15.

EU members wavering over whether to back additional tariffs

on Chinese-built electric vehicles, highlighting Brussels'

challenge in building support for its largest trade case yet as

Beijing threatens wide-ranging retaliation.

At the end of the investigation, the Commission can propose

definitive duties, normally applying for five years.

Its proposal could be blocked if a qualified majority of the

European Union's 27 members is opposed. A qualified majority

means 15 EU members representing 65% of the EU population. In

most cases, there is no blocking majority.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE INVESTIGATION?

Any company not in the sample group of BYD,

Geely and SAIC that wishes to have its

own individual duty can ask for an "accelerated review" just

after the imposition of definitive measures. Such a review

should last a maximum of nine months.

The Commission can also carry out an "interim review" after

a year has elapsed if the measures are no longer necessary or if

they are not sufficient to counteract subsidies.

The Commission itself often looks into whether producers are

evading duties via exports of parts for assembly elsewhere. For

the EU, such circumvention exists if 60% or more of the value of

parts are imported from the country subject to duties and if the

value added in the assembly is no more than 25%.

Companies can challenge the measures at the European Court

of Justice. China can take the European Union to the World Trade

Organization. Both legal paths can take well over a year.