On May 14, the U.S. Department of Commerce decided to impose additional tariffs on the basis of the original tariffs, including photovoltaic equipment, lithium batteries, minerals, semiconductors, machinery and equipment, medical equipment, etc. One of the most striking is the electric vehicle category, which has increased the original tariff rate from 25% to 100%, a fourfold increase, which is widely understood by the US government as a panic over the rapid rise of China's new energy vehicle products.
The U.S. side raised tariffs, and BYD Mexico debuted a new pickup truck
At the same time that the U.S. side raised import tariffs, BYD launched its first pickup truck model "SHARK" in Mexico. This is the first time BYD has unveiled a new model overseas, and it plans to expand sales in South America and Southeast Asia after launching it in Mexico.
At the same time, BYD has begun to plan to localize production in North America to meet the growing global market demand. It is reported that in the first two months, BYD has sent a delegation to the Mexican state of Jalisco to consider building an electric vehicle factory there. In this regard, the United States has made it clear that it will raise tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, even if they are produced in Mexico (the previous zero-tariff treatment was cancelled), which shows that the United States is very afraid of the market competition from China's new energy vehicles.
The "empty fist" of tariffs is difficult to stop the globalization of China's new energy vehicles
On the surface, the U.S. tariffs seem to keep China's electric vehicles out of the Pacific Ocean, but in fact, similar sanctions will bring certain impacts and challenges in the short term, and it is difficult to stop the globalization of China's new energy vehicles. According to data, China's auto exports increased by 34% year-on-year in April, and the growth rate of auto exports was greater than that of domestic sales, of which South America, Europe, and Southeast Asia and other places have become key export regions, while electric vehicles exported to the United States only accounted for about 5% of all exports, and the proportion of exports is very small, BYD executives also said that "we never planned to enter the U.S. market", so the U.S. tariff increase is destined to have a limited impact.
At the same time, in the past two years, domestic new energy vehicle companies represented by BYD are making breakthroughs in production and sales capabilities with a solid industrial foundation, excellent technical strength and outstanding market competitiveness, and have won wide praise in many countries and regions around the world. U.S. media have reported that BYD's miniature cheap electric car Seagull is comparable to the U.S. tram with three times the price of its excellent manufacturing process and performance. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also said that Chinese electric vehicles are so good that if there were no trade barriers, they would almost destroy most other car companies in the world.
At a time of global economic integration, the US has imposed tariffs in an attempt to close the door to the era of American auto companies to protect itself, which obviously violates the principles of global trade liberalization and fair competition, and is a complete slap in the face of the free market and fair competition that the United States advertises. History has also proved many times that the behavior of closing the country cannot get the U.S. auto manufacturing industry out of the predicament, but can only accelerate its derailment with the world, so that the U.S. car companies are completely left behind, and this kind of suppressive behavior of raising tariffs can not stop the rise of Chinese companies represented by BYD, but will only further stimulate their stronger innovation power and market development capabilities.