AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)05/11 Report--

Us president Joe Biden will announce nearly 100 per cent tariffs on china's strategic sectors, including electric vehicles, as soon as next week, a big 25 per cent increase over the previous period, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter. It is worth mentioning that this applies not only to electric cars, but also to batteries and solar panels from China.

In this regard, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference that the last US administration imposed a 301 tariff on China, which seriously interfered with normal economic and trade exchanges between China and the United States, and has been ruled by the WTO to violate WTO rules. Instead of correcting its erroneous practices, the US side continues to politicize economic and trade issues, abusing the so-called 301 tariff review procedure and further increasing tariffs. Lin Jian said: we urge the US side to earnestly abide by the WTO rules and abolish all tariffs imposed on China, let alone increase tariffs. China will take all necessary measures to safeguard its own rights and interests.

It is understood that during his administration, former US President Trump practiced unilateralism and protectionism in the name of "national security". In 2018 and 2019, Section 301 (commonly known as Article 301 of the 1974 Trade Law of the United States) was invoked to impose tariffs on Chinese imports. After Biden was elected as the new president, although he repeatedly claimed that he was "considering reducing tariffs on China," he delayed taking concrete action, insisting on most of the tariffs of the Trump era, and as the US election approached and Chinese electric cars sold well at home and abroad, the Biden administration began to come up with the idea of tariffs for political gain. In February, the Biden government issued a statement announcing that it would take "unprecedented action" to prevent Chinese Networked cars and trucks, including electric vehicles, from entering the US market. In April, the Biden government announced that it would triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, while constantly hyping the topic of so-called "overcapacity" in China.

In addition to the US government, the EU is also pushing ahead with the issue of "imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles".

In October 2023, the European Commission officially announced its decision to launch a countervailing investigation into pure electric vehicles imported from China because Chinese car companies produce low-cost electric vehicles through large government subsidies. The influx of these electric vehicles into the EU market will threaten the development of domestic electric vehicles in Europe. Starting in March, the European Commission began customs registration of electric vehicles from China, which means that if a trade investigation finds that Chinese electric vehicles are unfairly subsidized, the EU will impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles after the investigation is completed. It is understood that the investigation is expected to end in November, but the EU tariff on Chinese electric vehicles may begin in July. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in Berlin, Germany, on May 8th that Europe needed to take measures to prevent subsidised Chinese electric cars from flooding the EU market.

However, the move has been angrily reprimanded by a number of car company managers, stressing that the EU's actions will not only harm the interests of Chinese electric car companies, but also endanger the development plans of German car companies.

Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW, said at Wednesday's earnings meeting that [the policy] would soon "pick up a stone and shoot himself in the foot". "I don't think our industry needs protection and one of the advantages of the major car manufacturing industry is that it can operate on a global scale, and it is easy to jeopardize this advantage by introducing import tariffs," he said. " It is understood that the iX3 produced by BMW in China is also exported to the European market, and the MINI electric car, a joint venture with Great Wall Motor, will also be exported to overseas sales.

Earlier, Porsche Financial Director Lutz Meschke attacked the EU for launching a countervailing investigation into electric cars imported from China, saying the move would "not help much" for the EU, especially for Germany, which relies heavily on exports to China. German carmakers will "oppose" any "tariff war" between Brussels and Beijing. Reported that, as a strong group of German carmakers, Porsche will oppose any new tariffs.

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