On the 14th, the U.S. government announced tariffs on Chinese imports worth up to $18 billion, including electric vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic cells, critical minerals, semiconductors, steel and aluminum, and port cranes. Among them, the tariff on electric vehicles imported from China will increase to 100% from 2025.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has spoken out intensively about the tariffs. In an interview with Bloomberg on the 13th, she still insisted on the so-called "overproduction" of Chinese products, saying: "The president (Biden) wants to protect domestic industries, and he believes like me that it is unacceptable to be completely dependent on China in these areas, because China provides a lot of subsidies." ”
Public opinion in the United States also believes that such additional tariffs on China will eventually make American consumers "pay". According to Moody's estimates, American consumers bear 92% of the cost of imposing tariffs on China, and American households will spend an additional $1,300 a year, and the protectionist measures of the United States will also cause greater damage to the security and stability of the global production and supply chain.
On the 14th, Yellen hurriedly made up for her boss Biden, saying that the new tariffs imposed by the United States on Chinese goods will protect American companies and workers and will not hurt the wallets of American consumers. But Yellen should not forget that tariffs are actually taxing consumers, and the theory of this well-known American economist is completely "erratic". Yellen has also previously said that some of the tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump during his presidency have done more harm than good to American consumers and businesses.
Source: Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao"
Obviously, the Biden administration has been taxing Chinese goods for a long time, and has also compiled a large number of speech plans in an attempt to block the opposition of the American people.
In fact, even if the U.S. tariffs on Chinese EV imports remain unchanged, the 27.5% tariff rate is much higher than the 2.5% most-favored-nation tariff rate imposed by the U.S. on electric vehicles. In the face of the mountain of trade barriers, there are only a handful of Chinese electric vehicles that can be imported into the United States. The only Chinese electric car currently sold in the United States is the Polestar, a joint production between Geely and Sweden's Volvo.
Customs data shows that the number of electric vehicles exported by China to the United States has plummeted to less than 2,000 in the first quarter of this year, and the share of the U.S. market in China's global electric vehicle market has fallen to less than 0.5%.
With only 2,000 Chinese electric vehicles exported, why does the Biden administration feel like a man's back, like a pins and needles, and like a fish in the throat?
Biden is not staring at the mere 2,000 electric cars, of course, he cares about whether he can be re-elected. Every election year in the United States, both parties are bound to make crazy moves, and this year is especially crazy. The latest poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College shows that Republican Trump is ahead of Democratic Biden in six key states — Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — because young people, African-American and Hispanic voters are eager for change and dissatisfied with the economy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nearly 70 percent of voters say the U.S. political and economic system needs major changes, or even complete overthrows.
Source: AP
Recently, the Biden administration has been caught in a difficult situation between the growing anti-Israel wave and student demonstrations in the country, and the growing international public opinion in favor of innocent Gazans on the other. In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, after the US-led NATO continued to provide military aid to Ukraine but failed to achieve exciting results, Biden was often suppressed by his opponent Trump's phrase "resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours". Biden and his aides have few political cards to play, and economic issues, especially economic containment in emerging countries, will stabilize the vote base of a wave of conservative voters, especially those in the Rust Belt.
The traditional sense of "rust constituency" mainly refers to the areas near the Great Lakes in the United States where traditional industries are declining, and Michigan, Pennsylvania and other regions where Biden is lagging behind in the latest poll are among the "rust constituencies". Traditionally, the vast majority of union voters have supported the Democratic Party, but in 2016, Mrs. Clinton's relationship with Rust Belt union voters was in trouble, and disillusioned voters turned to Mr. Trump, who advocated free trade and revived manufacturing. Although Biden adjusted his campaign strategy in 2020 and narrowly defeated Trump, after four years, the old rival once again wrestled his wrists, and the situation became more and more serious.
"Shooting" China's electric vehicles, of course, will not let go of China's steel and shipbuilding. On April 16, the Biden administration used Section 301 provisions in the U.S. trade law to crack down on China's steel and shipbuilding industries, claiming that this was a measure to protect the U.S. steel and shipbuilding industry from unfair practices such as China's "dumping" of steel. In addition to intending to triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will also investigate China's unfair practices in the shipbuilding sector, among other things. The investigation was prompted by a petition filed by the United Steelworkers (USW) and four other unions claiming that the Chinese government's efforts to dominate the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics industries are based on non-market policies and are more "aggressive and instructive" than any other country.
On the other hand, the manufacturing advantage of the United States is no longer what it used to be. A number of U.S. research reports show that the U.S. shipbuilding industry has lost its competitive advantage many years ago due to overprotection. According to Clarkson Research, the U.S. shipbuilding industry accounts for less than 0.1% of the global market. China's direct exports to the United States account for less than 1% of total domestic exports, and China's total steel exports to the United States in 2023 will only be 815,000 tons, while the mainland's total steel exports will reach 95 million tons in the same year. The development of the US industry is not going well, and it is a consistent trick to talk about China.
Biden visits the United Steelworkers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 17. Source: Reuters
The election is in full swing, and both Biden and Trump are enlisting the support of union leaders and blue-collar workers in Pennsylvania and Michigan. It should be noted that Biden will increase the tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 100%, and his old rival Trump has been even more aggressive, saying that he will impose 200% tariffs on Chinese cars made in Mexico. These two candidates, who are 160 years old together, are more bold than the other in currying favor with voters.
During the Trump administration, tariffs were imposed on thousands of Chinese imports worth about $370 billion in 2018 and 2019, citing China's "misappropriation" of U.S. intellectual property and "force" U.S. companies to transfer sensitive technology.
Americans probably forgot that as early as 1983, Chrysler automakers, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, came to Beijing, China, to establish the first vehicle joint venture and created the Beijing Jeep brand. After more than 40 years of development, the market share of U.S. brands in China will be 8.8%, or about 2.3 million units, in 2023. GM, Tesla, Ford and other passenger cars sold more than 1 million, 900,000 and 300,000 respectively, and the Chinese market has always been unimpeded.
On May 5, 1983, Beijing Jeep, China's first joint venture automobile brand, was officially established, setting a precedent for cooperation between Chinese and American car companies.
In fact, the US unscrupulous suppression of China does not prove that the US is strong, but rather exposes that the US has lost its self-confidence and is out of order. It will not solve the problems of the United States itself, but will cause further damage to the normal operation of the international production and supply chain; This will not stop China's development and revitalization, but will inspire the 1.4 billion Chinese people to work harder.
The Republican and Democratic parties have an unprecedented consensus on suppressing China's industry, and the difference is who has the highest tone. However, this did not affect the enthusiasm of the US market for the successful listing of Geely Holding Group's high-end electric vehicle brand Zeekr on the New York Stock Exchange. On the 11th local time, the company rose 35% after expanding its initial public offering (IPO), which is the largest transaction for a Chinese company to be listed in the United States since 2021, and it took only 37 months to successfully go public, making it the fastest listed new energy vehicle brand in China.
It is difficult for Chinese electric vehicles to enter the US market, but Chinese electric vehicle stocks are sought after on the New York Stock Exchange, how will Biden and Trump respond?
In response to the latest round of tariffs imposed by the United States, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has made a strong statement for two consecutive days: The United States continues to further politicize economic and trade issues, and the tariffs on China are more wrong than wrong, which will only significantly increase the cost of imported goods, make American companies and consumers bear more losses, and make American consumers pay a greater price. We urge the US side to earnestly abide by the WTO rules, immediately lift the additional tariffs on China, and China will take all necessary measures to defend its rights and interests.
Author: Yang Ying, the chief writer of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News