© Bogonici
Written by Charlotte Goldstone 05/14/2024
The Biden administration is set to quadruple tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports into the United States, and the Department of Transport and Environment has urged European governments to offer similar incentives for near-subsidies as the “battery race” intensifies.
according to The Wall Street JournalHowever, prices of clean energy goods exported from China to the United States will double as tariffs quadruple, from 25% to 100%, under the new rule, set to be announced today.
The higher tariffs will affect vital metals, solar goods and batteries sourced from China, but a particular focus is on electric vehicles, reports said. Wall Street Journal’.
He points out that while the 25% tariff effectively prevented new Chinese electric vehicle models from entering the US market, the Biden administration and domestic automakers are concerned that will not be enough, “given the scale of Chinese manufacturing.”
Meanwhile, a T&E study released yesterday urged that more than half of Europe’s battery production plans are at risk due to competition in other markets, namely China and the US, without stronger government action.
Nearly half of Europe’s planned lithium-ion battery production through 2030 is safe, according to T&E. This represents a third increase from a year ago, following a series of measures in response to the US inflation reduction law.
“The remaining 53% of announced cell manufacturing capacity remains at moderate or high risk of being delayed, curtailed or canceled without stronger government action,” T&E warned.
“The battery race between China, Europe and the United States is heating up,” said Julia Poleskanova, Senior Director of Vehicle and Transportation Supply Chains at T&E. While some investments in batteries that were at risk from US subsidies have been made available since last year, about half of the planned production remains available.
“The EU needs to end any uncertainty around phasing out engines and set EV targets for companies to reassure big investors that they will have a guaranteed market for their products.”
The study also found that “offshoring” the electric vehicle supply chain to Europe would reduce battery production emissions by 37%, compared to a China-controlled supply chain, rising to 60% when using renewable electricity.
“Producing European demand for battery cells and components locally would save an estimated 133 million tons of CO2 between 2024 and 2030, equivalent to the Czech Republic’s total annual emissions,” T&E added.
