BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The European Commission is leaving the date for a decision on possible EU punitive tariffs on Chinese e-cars open. There is still no exact date for when a decision will be announced, said EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels on Thursday.

At the beginning of October, the Commission officially launched an investigation into whether e-cars in China benefit from subsidies that distort competition. According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the price of these cars is artificially depressed by high state subsidies, thus distorting the market.

Dombrovskis emphasized that provisional measures must be applied within nine months of the start of the investigation. Such measures could include punitive tariffs. Citing information from the Commission, "Der Spiegel" had reported that a decision would only be announced after the European elections and therefore after June 9th./mjm/DP/jha