And then the “fight” started …
Joe Biden has announced a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) as part of a raft of stringent policies developed to shield US manufacturers from cheap imports.
The move is likely to intensify trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies, and carries risks of retaliation from Beijing. But the US president said the increased levies – which hikes tariffs from 25% to 100% on EVs – were a proportionate response to China’s overcapacity in the EV sector. Levies will also increase on related goods such as lithium batteries and solar cells.
- How significant is this? At the moment, it’s largely symbolic – Chinese EVs have already been virtually excluded from the US market by tariffs previously introduced by Donald Trump.
- On the other hand … Lobby groups have suggested Beijing could pose a future threat by using exports to make up for a frail domestic economy, which the Alliance for American Manufacturing claims would result in an “extinction-level event” for US carmakers.
