To prevent low-priced Chinese electric vehicles and other products built by underpaid Chinese laborers from flooding the US market, the Biden Administration is expected to announce a set of tariffs on select products, including a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, CBS News reports.
This isn’t a blanket tariff aimed at China like the previous administration disastrously implemented. Instead, Biden is targeting specific categories of semiconductors, batteries, solar cells, steel and aluminum that US industries are starting to produce for the domestic market. The tariffs are designed to push trade to US suppliers.
Regarding EVs, the issue isn’t a current threat but a long-term outlook. Chinese electric car makers are ramping up production, but only account for less than two percent of the US EV market. The Chinese manufacturer BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, wants to expand into the US market with its Seagull, which sells for $12,000 in China, but it does not have the necessary framework to expand. The tariff, however, will also apply to any “grey market” cars that might be individually shipped by private buyers.