Ford EVs Will Likely Get More Expensive With New Trump Tariff

With the federal EV tax credit now set to end at the conclusion of September, electric vehicles that qualify for that incentive are expected to face increased demand in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Ford is working to mitigate the impact of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, who is using such levies as a negotiation tool with other countries in trade deal talks. Now, Ford EVs could potentially get quite a bit pricier is a newly proposed Trump tariff ultimately comes to fruition, due to the fact that they utilize a certain material sourced from China.

According to the New York Times, The U.S. Commerce Department plans to impose a 93.5 percent tariff on graphite coming from China, which almost exclusively comes from that part of the world at the moment. Chinese graphite is used in the batteries that power nearly all EVs sold in the U.S. at the moment as well. The move stems from the Trump administration accusing Chinese suppliers of a practice known as  “dumping,” which occurs when goods are sold in another country for a lower price than in the home market in an attempt to squeeze out competition.

Though graphite accounts for no more than eight percent of the total cost of an EV battery, it’s estimated that this new tariff could add around $1,000 to that tally, regardless. Ford rival Tesla – along with other companies – previously filed objections to a petition for tariffs submitted by the American Active Anode Material Producers, which is a group of graphite suppliers in the U.S. and Canada. “Dumping is a malicious trade practice used by China to undercut competition and wield geopolitical influence,” the group said in a statement.

Tesla previously stated that it has agreed to purchase graphite from U.S.-based suppliers, but noted that “they have not yet shown the technical ability to produce commercial quantities” of battery-grade graphite “at the quality and purity required by Tesla and other battery cell manufacturers.” As Ford Authority previously reported, the under-construction BlueOval Battery Park Michigan plant won’t use any raw materials from China, so its LFP batteries may not be impacted, at least.