AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)05/15 Report--

On May 14, the White House issued the latest statement that it will sharply increase tariffs on a range of Chinese imports, such as electric vehicles, chips and medical products, which will take effect from 2024 to 2026. The biggest increase is in electric vehicles. The tariff rate on electric vehicles from China will be raised from 25% to 100%. If the 2.5% basic tariff imposed by the United States on electric vehicles is included, the final tax rate will reach 102.5%. In addition, the tariff rate on lithium batteries for electric vehicles will be raised from 7.5% to 25%, and the tariff rate on battery parts will be raised from 7.5% to 25%. The White House said the counter-action against China's "unfair trade practices" targeted strategic industries, with tariffs on Chinese imports worth $18 billion (130.2 billion yuan).

A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said that the US side released the results of the four-year review of the 301 tariff on China, announcing that on the basis of the original 301 tariff on China, further increase tariffs on electric vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic batteries, key minerals, semiconductors, steel and aluminum, port cranes, personal protective equipment and other products imported from China. The Chinese side firmly opposes and solemnly makes representations.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the United States continues to politicize economic and trade issues and further increase tariffs on China, which will only significantly push up the cost of imported goods and make American enterprises and consumers bear more losses. make American consumers pay a higher price. We have noticed that a number of European dignitaries have said that imposing tariffs is the worst way to undermine global trade, and we urge the United States to earnestly abide by the rules of the WTO and immediately abolish the measures to impose tariffs on China. China will take all necessary measures to safeguard its own rights and interests.

In addition, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also made a sound. Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said publicly that this move by the United States is a typical trade protectionism, and trade protectionism can only hurt industries and enterprises, which is very disadvantageous to the healthy development of the global automobile industry and the transformation to electrification.

According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, passenger car sales in China in April were 2.001 million, up 10.5% from a year earlier and down 10.5% from a month earlier, of which 950000 new energy vehicles were sold, up 33.5% from a year earlier, far exceeding the overall increase in car sales. In addition, in April, China exported 504000 cars, an increase of 34 percent over the same period last year, and the growth rate of automobile exports has exceeded that of domestic sales.

However, according to FIFA data, the proportion of Chinese electric car exports to the US market is not large. Data show that in 2024, vehicle exports are mainly in Russia, Mexico, Belgium, Brazil and other markets, of which the Russian market ranks first, with 176400 vehicles. Brazil has the largest contribution to growth, up 370% from the same period last year, while the United States cannot even get into the top 15. In other words, the increase of the US export tariff rate on Chinese electric vehicles to 100% actually has little impact on the current development of Chinese electric vehicles, and it even hinders the pace of Chinese electric vehicles entering the US market, but in the face of unfair treatment by the United States, the relevant Chinese departments still make solemn representations.

China is the largest electric vehicle market in the world, and is playing a more and more important role in the international automobile market, which has attracted close attention from Europe and the United States, who regard China's automobile industry as their "enemy" and try to suppress China's automobile industry through political policies, which also brings a lot of trouble to the globalization strategy of Chinese automobile brands.

According to industry insiders, the United States is at a critical moment in the election, and Trump will once again compete with Biden for the presidency of the United States, and if Biden wants to achieve an overrun, he will have to make some achievements in the last time to win votes. "sanctions" on China-related areas is one of the most effective methods at present.

However, domestic car companies seem to care more about the attitude of the European Union than the US market. This time, the European Commission also announced that it would impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, which is expected to begin in July. Different from the American market, Chinese electric vehicles have made remarkable achievements in the European market. From 2019 to 2023, the share of Chinese brands such as BYD in the European electric vehicle market soared from 0.4% to 8%. It fully proves its strong competitiveness and wide market recognition. If it comes from the European Union to impose tariffs on electric vehicles from China, it may have no small impact, but it will not only affect Chinese car companies. There are also car companies that make in China and export to the European market, such as BMW, Volkswagen, smart and so on, these brand managers have repeatedly protested.

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