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Preface
In the past two years, new energy vehicles have become the hottest blue ocean market at home and abroad.
Because of the earlier layout, the mainland's new energy vehicle sales have long occupied the first place.
But this seems to threaten the interests of the United States.
In order to curb the development of China's new energy vehicles in the North American market, the United States actually wants to raise the tariff on China's electric vehicles to 100%.
Information source: Observer.com--The United States was revealed to have raised tariffs on electric vehicles to China to 100% as soon as next week, and it will also start with medical devices--2024-5-11
So what will be the impact of this decision of the United States? How will the mainland respond?
A 100% tariff will be imposed
In the past two days, the Wall Street Journal of the United States reported that the Biden administration will announce a list of corresponding tariff increases on Chinese goods in the near future.
In this list, China's new energy vehicles have the highest tariff increase, directly from 27.5% to 102.5%.
Source: China News Network-CAAM responds to the United States or new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles: typical trade protectionism-2024-05-13
This policy of the United States means that China's new energy vehicles must bear a heavy economic burden if they want to cross the Pacific Ocean and land in the American market.
According to the U.S. government, their policy is to protect the country's new energy vehicle industry, and to put it bluntly, his family can't beat China in this field, so the government will end up directly.
In order to help its own new energy vehicle companies, the United States directly does not talk about martial arts, and the government directly intervenes in normal trade exchanges, so as to weaken the competitiveness of Chinese electric vehicles in North America.
It has to be said that this strategy of the Biden administration has indeed had a certain impact on the sales prospects of Chinese electric vehicles in the U.S. market.
At the same time, the policy has also quietly covered the bridge of cooperation between China and the United States in the field of new energy vehicles.
From an economic point of view, this move by the U.S. government is like building a high wall in its own greenhouse, in order to isolate the attack of foreign high-quality varieties, to ensure that its own flowers can get sufficient light and nutrients, and the "foreign high-quality varieties" here refer to those cost-effective, technology-leading Chinese new energy vehicles.
The United States hopes to reduce the price advantage of Chinese products through tariff barriers, create a relatively mild competitive environment for local new energy vehicle companies, and avoid premature collapse in the fierce market battle.
From a political point of view, this move by the Biden administration is also a means of putting pressure on the Chinese government, after all, its Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also mentioned the problem of "overcapacity" of China's new energy vehicles during her recent visit to China.
In fact, Yellen's main purpose at that time was to threaten China in the struggle between the United States and Russia, and she chose the United States, but in the end she ran into a nose of dust for us.
After going back, the Biden administration will naturally make some moves to raise export tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, which can be said to be a helpless move by the United States, after all, the words have been said cruelly, and we haven't bought it yet, so people must do it.
However, the Biden administration's move has also exposed their technological anxiety in this area, and the leapfrog progress of China's new energy vehicle technology has made the United States feel unprecedented shock and crisis.
The U.S. government is worried that if China is allowed to develop like this, then the United States may not have the strength to fight in the frontier field of new energy vehicles in the future.
Therefore, with the help of tariffs, the United States is trying to install reducers on the fast wheels of Chinese technology to buy itself a precious window of time in order to adjust its strategy and accumulate strength to catch up.
The impact of U.S. tariff policy
The impact of the U.S. tariff policy is like a domino effect, touching every aspect of the U.S. and U.S. auto industries, and even the global auto industry, and the ripple effects are both complex and subtle.
For U.S. automakers, the U.S. government's increase in import tariffs on China's new energy vehicles seems to be an umbrella for its own automakers to protect them from foreign competition in the domestic market.
But the tide of globalization has long turned the world into a tightly connected network, and the U.S. auto manufacturing industry is no exception, with many auto parts, whether engine parts, electronic components, or interior accessories, deeply embedded in the "Made in China" label.
Therefore, as soon as the United States mentions tariffs, it is equivalent to putting an invisible "tax increase sticker" on the prices of these imported parts, which will increase the cost pressure of local automakers in the United States and challenge the stability of their supply chains.
It's like trying to protect your home, but you don't expect that even the water source in your backyard is blocked by this protective wall, and the water supply for your life becomes strained.
For Chinese new energy vehicle companies, this tariff barrier is undoubtedly a head-on blow, directly weakening their price advantage in the US market and making the original cost-effective products less attractive.
It's like when you participate in a race, your running shoes are light and can help you run like a flight, but now you are forced to wear a pair of heavy iron shoes, and your speed is naturally greatly reduced.
But crises are always accompanied by turnarounds, and this headwind has also forced China's new energy vehicle companies to start thinking about whether they should broaden their horizons and not just focus on one market.
Therefore, it is very likely that Chinese car companies will begin to explore more countries and regions, seek new partners, and the market diversification strategy will gradually take shape, just like being forced to leave the familiar river, only to find that the ocean is vast and there are more fish waiting to be caught.
For American companies like Tesla, which has unlimited scenery in the United States and is deeply involved in the Chinese market, the U.S. tariffs are tantamount to planting thorns in their own sweet garden.
On the one hand, the stability of the supply chain is facing challenges, after all, China is not only a huge market, but also an indispensable part of Tesla's supply chain, and parts supply, cost control, and production plans may fluctuate due to policy changes.
On the other hand, the importance of the Chinese market is self-evident, and any strategic adjustment must be careful not to affect its foundation in the Chinese market, or even affect the global strategic layout, which is like enjoying a delicious cake at the same time, you must always be careful not to be pricked by the small thorns in the cake.
In addition, China can also counteract its own behavior with its own way, the United States can increase tariffs on Chinese goods at will, then we can also increase tariffs on American goods.
As the world's second largest economy, China's market is not much different from the U.S. market, and in some respects is even more dynamic than the U.S. market.
Competition between China and the United States in the new energy vehicle market
Since 2009, the Chinese government has implemented a subsidy policy for the purchase of new energy vehicles, which directly provides economic subsidies to consumers who purchase new energy vehicles, reducing the cost of car purchase and greatly stimulating market demand.
This policy has been continuously optimized and adjusted over time to ensure that subsidies can accurately support truly competitive enterprises and products, avoiding "one size fits all".
In addition, the mainland government has also implemented a vehicle purchase tax exemption policy for new energy vehicles, which further reduces the burden on consumers, and for new energy vehicle companies, there are a series of tax reduction and exemption policies to encourage enterprises to increase R&D investment and expand production scale.
In addition, the government has invested a lot of money in the construction and improvement of charging facilities, including the popularization of public charging piles and battery swap stations, which has solved the charging anxiety of new energy vehicle users and improved the convenience of use, thereby indirectly promoting market growth.
Through the establishment of special funds, the provision of scientific research project support, etc., to encourage enterprises to carry out new energy vehicles and their core components of technology research and development and innovation, especially the battery, motor, electronic control and other key technology breakthroughs, enhance the technical level and international competitiveness of the entire industry.
These policies have significantly reduced the operating costs of new energy vehicle companies and improved their market competitiveness, especially for start-ups and emerging brands, and the policy support provides them with valuable space for survival and development.
On the other hand, in the United States, although the government attaches great importance to and provides policy support to the new energy vehicle industry, compared with competitors such as China, American new energy vehicle companies have lagged behind in some key technical areas, such as battery energy density, fast charging technology, battery management system, drive motor efficiency and intelligent network technology.
In addition, the production cost of new energy vehicles in the United States is generally high, partly because the supply chain is not localized enough, and key components such as battery raw materials and battery packs rely on imports, which increases costs.
In addition, the stability of the new energy vehicle supply chain in the United States is facing a test, and the high dependence on foreign key components, especially the supply of battery raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, etc., mostly comes from China, making the supply chain vulnerable to international trade frictions and geopolitical influences.
Therefore, although the Sino-US new energy vehicle trade war may continue for a period of time, the seeds of cooperation have also quietly taken root, and the two sides have broad space for cooperation in technical exchanges, market access, and standard formulation.
Coupled with the promotion of global energy transition and environmental protection policies, the new energy vehicle market has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities, and Chinese and American companies have both competed and cooperated in the global market, jointly promoting the rapid development of the industry.
epilogue
In the context of globalization, cooperation is the trend of the times, China and the United States should take a long-term view, through deepening cooperation, jointly overcome technical difficulties, expand the market, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the global new energy vehicle industry.
On the track of new energy vehicles, we can run hand in hand to reach the other side of the green future faster.