White House levy to protect US makers from cheap imports likely to inflame trade tensions
The US president, Joe Biden, has announced a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of a package of measures designed to protect US manufacturers from cheap imports.
In a move that is likely to inflame trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the White House said it was imposing more stringent curbs on Chinese goods worth $18bn.
Sources said the move followed a four-year review and was a preventive measure designed to stop cheap subsidised Chinese goods flooding the US market and stifling the growth of the American green technology sector.
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Despite the risks of retaliation from Beijing, Biden said the increased levies were a proportionate response to China’s overcapacity in the EV sector. Sources said China was producing 30m EVs a year but could sell only 22-23m domestically.
Throw another one on the pile of reasons to not support him.
Trump would be no better. If I had to make a rough scorecard it would be Biden 55 and Trump about 4.
It’s sad that you think “Not Biden” defaults to “Trump”
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Like, I agree, but do you actually think Trump is a better choice?
I think supporting someone other than Biden or Trump is a better choice
And if wishes were pennies, we would all be rich.
you wishing for a Biden presidency
Compared to Trump? You’re absolutely freakin right I am
but I cant compare someone else favorably to Trump.
Not really, because unless you can convince a majority of Americans to vote third party, which is unbelievably unlikely, then Biden or Trump are the options. On top of that, when you start pulling left wing votes away from Biden, it makes it easier for Trump to win unless you hit the point of majority support, which is again incredibly unlikely. I wish that weren’t the reality, but that’s how it is currently, and I hella do not want another term of Trump as I believe that’d be genuinely ruinous.
When China opens up it’s domestic market to international goods then the rest of the world should consider doing the same. Until then, match every barrier to entry.
Why?
Why should China be allowed to put in place barriers to entry but not the rest of the world?
So china is authoritarian and restricts their people’s market choices and the solution we are going with is just matching that? Pretty sus
Fair trade or no trade. The only way little kids learn to play fair is if the other kids stop playing with them when they cheat.
Fair trade or no trade.
Did the US ever have fair trade to begin with? It seems like we’ve got a long history of undercutting, outsourcing, and drop shipping.
If China can sell us cheap, efficient electric cars but we can’t sell them expensive gas-guzzling ICE vehicles, it creates an unfair competitive advantage for a Chinese fleet.
On the other hand, the cheap Chinese cars are the result of a long chain of slavery and exploitation
Go on…
How can anyone see this and not see that the US is a manipulative shithole country? Champion of the free world markets except when they aren’t winning, then closed market manipulation and government interference.
The US hasn’t been ahead for many years and they can’t innovate. So now they just want to keep out actual progress.
I wouldnt call cheap cars made by slaves innovative
I guess Americans will never get cheap electric cars. Make no mistake. US automakers aren’t going to use this tariff to buy time to make competitive cheap electric cars. They’re just going to rest on their laurels and continue to sell large overpriced trucks, SUV and their EV counterparts.
I guess Americans will never get cheap electric cars.
You can always drive them over the border from Mexico.
They’re banning 25 year old kei trucks, they were definitely not gonna allow China to compete.
God forbid we try to save the planet without making morbillions in shareholder value first.
God forbid we try to save the planet without making morbillions in shareholder value first.
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The reason why you’re saving on Chinese cars is because of huge government subsidies on their side, so they don’t play by the rules of the free market either.
Oh, like the time in 2009 when the US government gave $81 billion dollars to the automotive industry? Or again in 2023 when Biden put $12 billion in incentives on the table for them to make EVs?
Nailed it. Sick and fucking tired of hearing the “oh China’s unfair subsidies blah blah” bullshit. The US has been doing the same thing, just we’ve had our futures sold to corporation’s profit margins.
Yeah but the right way to do it is to stop oil subsidies
That won’t make US made EV cheaper. China relies on what is basically slavery as well, if that’s what you want for US factory workers in order to be able to buy a car for cheap car then I think you don’t have your priorities straight…
Tell me how much money the CEOs make then tell me how much worker wages have to do with how expensive the cars are.
GM’s CEO makes 28m/year
A drop in the bucket with their 170b in revenue
Their factory workers make way over 20$/h, some make way over 50$/h.
How much do you think Chinese factory workers get paid?
GM’s CEO makes 28m/year
Looking back at the last 5 years, General Motors’s selling, general & admin expenses peaked in December 2023 at 9.656 billion.
Selling, General & Admin Expenses For General Motors
If you include the incentives across the entire business, rather than just fixating on a single employee, you discover a figure equal to around 5% of the $171B in gross revenues. It should be noted that even this is a conservative estimate, as General Motors licenses and contracts to third-party businesses with their own administrative expenses.
How much do you think Chinese factory workers get paid?
In the China versus US size stakes, it’s what you measure that counts
This matters for the debate over which of the US or China has the larger economy because, measured at market exchange rates, US GDP is still around 40% larger than that of China. (See Chart 1.) But when measured at PPP exchange rates, China’s economy overtook that of the US in 2016 and is now about 20% bigger.
Because of the cheap cost of living in China, their factory workers can earn less on paper and still live much higher on the hog. Often literally (Chinese consumers eat about 5kg more pork per capita than their American peers). But also in terms of home ownership rates (90% in China to 60% in America) and retirement age (54 in China compared to 59 in the US) and life expectancy (78 in China compared to 76 in the US).
If you consult the Gini Index, the US and China are within 2 points of each other as of 2021.
This is largely thanks to the big public works financed and administered by a unified national government. A relatively poor country can produce quality of life superior to the global leader simply by doing the old FDR style tax-and-spend tricks that put America at the front of the pack 80 years ago.
huge government subsidies on their side
China’s public education, public health care, public housing, and public mass transit: Evil Subsidies
America’s $7500 tax credit: Sensible free market EV incentive
Then the US should match that and subsidize Electric Vehicles. Everyone wins.
Lol he’s beating Trump to it. It won’t help him at all, but it is funny because it will piss the orange asshole off.
I predict Trump will make a day-one promise to remove this tariff calling it terrible, just terrible.
Entirely possible
So Trump can be controlled with reverse psychology, like a 2 year old. Definitely possible.
Why does Biden hate the Earth?
I’m still more interested in one than I am a Tesla.
