Back in May, amid concerns over unfair competitive practices and potential national security risks, the Biden Administration announced that it would be raising tariffs on imported Chinese EVs and select raw materials by a large margin. Those new tariffs were originally slated to take effect on August 1st, but now, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that it has decided to delay that start date by around two weeks.
This decision comes as the USTR revealed that it’s still in the process of reviewing 1,100 public comments on the matter, some of which revolve around concerns that the higher tariffs will have a massive financial impact on select American industries as well. Regardless, the USTR still expects the new, higher tariffs to take effect in around two weeks time. As far as Chinese EVs go, tariffs are set to increase from the current rate of 25 percent all the way up to 100 percent, and lithium-ion batteries will get a boost from 7.5 percent to 25 percent, along with various other materials used in the construction of those batteries.
These new, higher tariffs are being imposed amid concerns from Ford, other companies, and the U.S. government as it pertains to ultra-cheap Chinese EVs, as well as the potential for those vehicles to collect sensitive data in the states and then transmit it back to the Chinese government.
Thus far, the higher tariffs have received support from the automotive industry, and as Ford Authority previously reported, the European Union and the UK may follow suit with similar actions at some point. However, the EU, specifically, is still in talks with China as it continues to try and find an alternative, as that country has also threatened to increase tariffs on a variety of European imports in a retaliatory measure.
We’ll have more on these new tariffs soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
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