Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 14 (Reporter Su Liang, Liu Yifang) The U.S. government announced on the 14th that it will impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other products. This abuse of trade protectionist measures by the US will seriously affect the transformation and upgrading of the US auto industry, have a serious negative impact on consumers, and will also damage the green transformation of the world economy and undermine global efforts to combat climate change. Overseas public opinion generally believes that the "boomerang" of protectionism is bound to hurt the United States itself.
Bloomberg reported that the U.S. move to impose tariffs on China's new energy products is mainly "symbolic", because the United States is not the main sales market for China's "new three" products. Bloomberg said the U.S. move, like previous threats to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China, has little effect, because these products are not China's main exports to the United States.
Bloomberg quoted Chen Shi, a fund manager at Shanghai Qianpu Investment Management Co., Ltd., as saying that over the years, China has proven that its core strength lies in a strong and comprehensive industrial structure, which cannot be changed by tariffs. Analysts believe that as the U.S. election approaches, similar rhetoric and policies against China have been amplified, but the substantive impact of these policies is waning.
Gao Shuchao, a law professor at Singapore Management University who studies China's trade policy, also believes that raising tariffs on the "new three" products exported to the United States will not have a major impact on China's economy.
The Financial Times reported that the US government introduced such protectionist measures before the election in order to convince union members in the "swing states" that the Democratic government would protect jobs.
"It's purely political." The UAE's newspaper The Nation pointed out in a report that the U.S. imposed tariffs on related products on the grounds that the Chinese government subsidizes companies in the new energy sector, which is not valid, because the U.S. federal and local governments have long supported the development of electric vehicles in their countries. According to the outlet, China's electric vehicle industry has witnessed the success stories of Chinese private enterprises.
According to The Pasés, there are three major risks in the U.S. approach: U.S. consumers have to buy more expensive, fuel-guzzling, and outdated models, which will drag down technological progress and economic growth; As a result, the U.S. response to climate change and carbon reduction will be more costly and less efficient. As a result, the global economy could be fragmented, undermining international cooperation in key areas.
"We are witnessing a country that once created the modern automotive industry lose its courage." Bloomberg columnist David Ficklin recently pointed out in a commentary article that the imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and the exclusion of cost-effective Chinese electric vehicles from the U.S. market will make the U.S. auto industry uncompetitive and make U.S. consumers the ultimate loser.
Ficklin said that American companies seem to be abandoning new energy vehicles and green energy transition, and many large car companies, including Ford and General Motors, are cutting expenses and laying off R&D teams, "which is a disappointing move."
Ficklin said this protectionism has created a strange environment for the U.S. auto industry, like birds on an island, and these automakers have become bloated and incapacitated without competitors. Ficklin stressed that those American consumers who want to buy low-priced, clean, and innovative cars will be the ultimate losers.
The U.S. Consumer News and Business Channel reported on the 11th that due to backward technology, the sales of U.S. automakers fell sharply.
Reflecting on the development of the U.S. auto industry, Carlos Tavares, CEO of automaker Stellantis Group, said that raising tariffs would not protect U.S. businesses and that the only way to compete with Chinese counterparts was to reduce costs and offer electric vehicles at more affordable prices.