Tariffs on EV's

The Chinese have a history of using cheap labor sometimes slave labor along with minimal regulation for safety and the environment and government subsidies to produce low-cost items. They then flood the world markets with lower priced merchandise and run competitors out of business. Over a 40-year period they were able to turn the great manufacturing middle American into the rust belt. Before Trump became president in his first term, he promoted the idea of tariffs. While in office he placed a 25% tariff on Chinese cars and later Biden increased it to 100% and the result has meant no Chinese cars in the US. Europe was slow to react and they are now in a panic. EU imports of Chinese EV’s jumped from $1.6 billion in 2020 to $11.5 billion in 2023. The Chinese car sells for $21,500 and the EU equivalent sells for $45,000. On October 4, 2024 EU member states approved tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). The move follows a historic rise in imports from China, which spurred an in-depth investigation by the European Commission that found widespread state-support for China’s EV industry. The EU imposed tariffs on China-made EVs at the end of October after an anti-subsidy investigation, including 17.0% for BYD, 18.8% for Geely and 35.3% for SAIC, on top of the EU's standard car import duty of 10%. Jan 24, 2025 These tariffs saved the US auto industry and the UAW understands that. The result is that the US consumer will pay a higher price for EV’s but there is now much in the news about this.