US Will Raise Import Duty Tariffs on Imports of Electric Vehicles from China

JAKARTA – United States of America (US) plans to impose large new tariffs on electric cars and environmentally friendly energy imports from China. Tariffs for electric vehicles will increase fourfold from 25% to 100%. The plans were described by people who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details before the official announcement.

The tariffs, due to be announced next Tuesday, come as Democratic officials are frustrated over excess production capacity of electric vehicles and other products in China that they say poses a threat to US jobs and national security.

Industrialized countries including the US and its European allies worry that a wave of cheap Chinese exports will overwhelm domestic manufacturing. On the US side, there is particular concern that China’s green energy products will undermine the massive climate-friendly investments made through the Democratic Party’s Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Joe Biden in August 2022.

These additional tariffs also have political ramifications ahead of the presidential election in November 2024. Both Biden and his Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump, have told voters they will be tough on China, the world’s second-largest economy after the US and China. new geopolitical rivals emerge.

Biden has defined his policy as competition with China, not conflict. He has implemented an industrial strategy that uses government financial support to attract private investment in new factories and advanced technology, while limiting sales of computer chips and other equipment to China.

Trump also floated the idea of ​​imposing massive tariffs on China to reduce the US trade deficit with the country. He has repeatedly claimed that Biden’s support for electric cars will eventually cause American manufacturing jobs to move to China.

The tariff announcement is expected to maintain some of the tariffs that have been in place during the Trump administration, covering about $360 billion of Chinese goods. The new import tax will add products such as syringes and solar equipment from China.

There is a risk that the tariffs could lead to a wider trade conflict between the two countries as they respond to each other’s moves. China is trying to create a technological advantage and move up the economic chain.