White House levy to protect US makers from cheap imports likely to inflame trade tensions

The US president, Joe Biden, has announced a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of a package of measures designed to protect US manufacturers from cheap imports.

In a move that is likely to inflame trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the White House said it was imposing more stringent curbs on Chinese goods worth $18bn.

Sources said the move followed a four-year review and was a preventive measure designed to stop cheap subsidised Chinese goods flooding the US market and stifling the growth of the American green technology sector.

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Despite the risks of retaliation from Beijing, Biden said the increased levies were a proportionate response to China’s overcapacity in the EV sector. Sources said China was producing 30m EVs a year but could sell only 22-23m domestically.

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[–] 11 points 2 years ago*

You’re kinda skipping over a few things as well as something the previous comment mentioned.

  1. Weather. I live in a pretty big metro area that has freezing cold winters and sweltering hot summers (with high humidity).
  2. Cargo space is definitely something to think about. There are a lot of families that have to drive to a store for a family’s amount of food for the week
  3. Long distances to get to anything in the suburbs amplifies issues 1 and 2 (including usually no pubic transportation to help)
  4. The previous commenter mentioned they don’t want a giant SUV and just want an affordable electric car.

All these things are a reason cars are a huge necessity in most of the US. Yes, getting to an area where we can all mostly use 2 wheels would be great, but we should recognize that doing better is a great step forward instead of shooting it down because it’s not perfect.

I say all this as a person who works from home so I don’t have to worry about a commute, has a small car for necessary trips, and does my best avoid unnecessary driving and makes sure to carpool at every opportunity.

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