Biden vows 102.5% tariffs on electric cars made in China
Tariffs also on batteries, solar panels, syringes and surgical masks. Beijing threatens retaliation
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Key points
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Duties of over 100% on electric cars; 25% on lithium batteries; 50% on chips and solar panels. And more duties on medical products, critical minerals, and steel. It is a barrage of restrictions that Joe Biden launched on 14 May against imports from China, with an eye on the November elections: 'The new duties will protect our workers from unfair trade practices,' said the US president. Beyond the rhetoric, the new measures affect some $18 billion of goods, according to White House estimates.
In 2023, Chinese exports to the US amounted to USD 427 billion. "I want fair competition, I don't want confrontation," Biden assured. Beijing, as usual, reacted by threatening 'firm measures'. The clampdown will come into force between this year and 2026. In the crosshairs are strategic sectors, such as semiconductors and green energy, on which the Biden administration has poured hundreds of billions of dollars in production subsidies.
Electric cars
.In the name of Made in the USA, duties on Chinese electric cars will be multiplied almost fourfold from this year, to 102.5% from the current 27.5%, a level that already leaves Chinese manufacturers out of the US market. In the first quarter of 2024, Geely was the only Chinese manufacturer to export under its own brand to the US, where it sold 2,217 vehicles, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. Another 60,000 Chinese-made cars came into the country, but under US brands, mainly Buick (General Motors).
The new tariffs are intended to nip a potential invasion in the bud: "I will not allow" Chinese electric cars "to flood our country, I will ensure that the future of electric cars is Made in America", Biden assured. "China is simply too big to play by its own rules," said National Economic Council director Lael Brainard. "Beijing," he added, "is using the same pattern it has used in the past to fuel its own growth at the expense of others, continuing to invest, despite overcapacity, and flooding global markets with underpriced exports through unfair economic practices.
In addition to cars, duties also hit their heart: lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and their components will be taxed at customs with a levy rising from 7.5% to 25% from this year. Lithium-ion batteries for non-electric vehicles will suffer the same treatment as in 2026.
