US to quadruple tariffs on Chinese electric cars
13 May 2024 12:23
This week, US President Joe Biden will quadruple tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and sharply increase duties on Chinese goods in other key industries. These measures will be presented as protecting American workers, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing Bloomberg.
Thus, the overall tariff on Chinese electric vehicles will increase from 27.5% to 102.5%, according to anonymous sources. Other tariffs will double or triple.
At the same time, the Biden administration has signaled to the US solar industry that it will exclude equipment used to make solar panel components from the tariff list.
Biden’s plan to increase tariffs is largely symbolic, as China does not rely on US consumers in these sectors. Years ago, Chinese electric cars were effectively blocked from the US market due to existing tariffs, while solar energy companies mostly export to the US from abroad, avoiding similar restrictions.
According to people with knowledge of the matter, Biden will target key sectors, including electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, steel and aluminium. Earlier, he announced tariffs on steel and aluminium that will increase to 25% on some products that currently have a 7.5% rate or no tariff at all.
“Biden’s measures are not aimed at destroying market segments, but at preventing the expected increase in imports: Chinese steel, aluminium and cars currently account for tiny shares of US supply. The administration warns that China is trying to squeeze the market in key sectors and flood the US with subsidised goods to destabilise its rival and boost its own recovery,” Bloomberg writes,
– writes Bloomberg.
Duties on foreign goods, including Chinese ones, were first introduced by former President Donald Trump. He ridiculed Biden’s initiative:
“He says he’s going to impose a 100% tariff on all Chinese electric cars. Isn’t that nice? Biden should have done this four years ago.”
Trump believes that Chinese companies will now try to make cars in Mexico and then avoid the tariffs by shipping them to the US under the US-Mexico-Canada agreement that Trump negotiated as president. Trump said he would impose a 200% tariff on Chinese-made cars in Mexico.
“I will impose a 200 per cent tax on every car that comes out of these factories, and they will not do it,” he said,
– he said.
Trump has also promised to impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese goods, a move Biden does not agree to.
