Not a fan of EVs: Trump’s comeback to hurt Chinese EV makers, expect ‘rough seas’

Name: SCMP
Telephone: +852-2680-8888

Chinese EV makers can opt to set up a base in the US, take the tariff blows or find new markets elsewhere, according to Pareto Economics

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Chinese EVs waiting to be loaded onto a ship at Taicang Port in Suzhou, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. Photo: AFP

Yujie Xue

Published: 7:30am, 12 Nov 2024Updated: 3:20pm, 12 Nov 2024

Donald Trump’s return to the White House is likely to complicate the outlook for the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers that are seeking to enter the US market after being hit with new tariffs from the Joe Biden administration.

The president-elect has promised to raise tariffs on imports from “countries that have been ripping us off for years” to protect US car makers. He has also vowed to repeal Biden’s policies to drive EV adoption on his first day in office, saying EVs “do not work.”

“There is one issue on which most Democrats and Republicans agree is that [the US] should not let China dominate EVs or any other sectors,” said Robert McNally, founder and president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group in Washington. “That is something where there is broad bipartisan agreement, and I think you’ll see that reflected in even more intense policies” after Trump takes office, he added.

McNally was special assistant to the president on the National Economic Council during George W. Bush’s first term in the White House.

02:11

Trump vows high tariffs on China-made cars in his first speech after assassination attempt

Chinese EV makers bore the brunt of Biden’s policies when he raised the tariff rate to 100 per cent from 25 per cent in August. The US blamed China for flooding its auto markets with state-subsidised EVs, part of a move to hit US$18 billion of Chinese exports including semiconductor chips.