The United States plans to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese cars

Not 27.5% as is the case today, but 100%. According to the Wall Street Journal, this is the import tariff that President Biden will announce next week for electric cars imported from China to the United States of America. This makes it impossible for the Chinese to gain a foothold in the United States. In the meantime, it remains to be seen what steps the European Union will take.

The Wall Street Journal learns that Joe Biden will impose new import duties on Chinese products next Tuesday. This mainly concerns green technology such as solar panels and batteries, but also electric cars. This means virtually a ban on sales of these products in the United States.

Until now, electric vehicles coming from China into the United States are already subject to a punitive 25% tariff on top of a general import duty of 2.5% on each vehicle imported into the United States. In practice, there is already a 27.5% tax on Chinese e-cars, but that rate will now nearly quadruple to 100%.

In this way, Chinese electric car makers – currently absent from the United States due to high import tariffs – will certainly not be tempted to do so in the future.

There is no doubt that the decision – if it is actually implemented next week – is also an electoral move on the part of Biden, who is facing his rival Donald Trump, who also said that he plans to impose a 60% import tariff on all Chinese products if he returns.

It is not surprising that such a decision is not widely received in China. China has already announced this “Take the necessary measures to defend their rights and interests“.

Meanwhile in Europe

Such an increase in import tariffs is also an option that the EU is considering, but has not yet decided on. Last year, the European Commission launched an investigation into inappropriate government aid to Chinese automakers. After the publication of the study results, which is expected this fall, the EU will decide on a possible increase in the current import tariff by 10%.

It may seem surprising, but not all European car manufacturers are in favor of this. Although they face significant competition from cheap Chinese e-cars, companies such as BMW, Mercedes and the Volkswagen Group are not keen on placing additional barriers to Chinese automakers, because China then threatens to do the same with its cars exported there. This would of course be a major blow to those brands with significant interests in China.

Chinese automakers such as BYD, which is building a factory in Hungary, and Chery, which recently took over Nissan's old factory in Barcelona in cooperation with the Spanish company Ebro to build Omoda cars, are preparing to impose European import duties. These will not be imposed on cars manufactured in the EU.