- Biden administration increases tariff on imported Chinese EVs from 25 to 100 percent
- Tariff on lithium-ion batteries and battery components rises from 7.5 to 25 percent
- Chinese government urges U.S. govt to reconsider, vows to fight back
Joe Biden has ramped up tariffs on several goods imported from China, including EVs and their batteries. The move quadruples the duty applied to imported EVs as Biden seeks to improve his record on the economy as the election looms, but it has gone down like a lead balloon in China.
EVs coming in from China were already subject to a 25 percent levy, but under the revised system they now face a 100 percent tariff, ensuring that even super-efficient Chinese manufacturers won’t bother trying to tap into the lucrative U.S. market via a direct route. The White House says China is flooding global markets with cheap goods and poses a threat to American economic and information security.
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The lithium-ion batteries and other battery components that power those EVs have also been hit with higher tariffs, though not so brutally. The duty on batteries rises from 7.5 to 25 percent, while the tax applied to photovoltaic cells used in solar panels doubles to 50 percent, and some minerals that previously attracted no duty are now faced with a 25 percent tariff. And come 2025, the levy on semiconductors will jump from 25 to 50 percent.
Though the impact on electric vehicles is the most obvious, the new tariffs cover many goods not directly related to the auto industry. Ship-to-shore cranes could previously be brought to the U.S. duty-free, but will now be slapped with a 25 percent tariff, while the tax on syringes and needles balloons from zero to 50 percent.
We’re now only six months from the U.S. election and President Biden’s team will be hoping that these moves make him look tough on economic matters, where polls say he lags behind his rival for the White House, Donald Trump. But any increase in support at home will come at the expense of angering China and its leader, Xi Jinping.
News of the tariff hikes angered Chinese officials, Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying the country would take “full necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” the South China Morning Post reports.
“This will seriously affect the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. “The United States should immediately correct its wrongdoing and cancel the additional tariffs imposed on China.”