The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently announced details of the latest tariffs on Chinese imports, significantly increasing duties on a range of Chinese-made products including electric vehicle (EV) batteries, computer chips, and medical products. These tariffs, expected to affect goods worth approximately US$18 billion, will come into effect on August 1.
The USTR stated on May 22 that after a 30-day public comment period, tariffs on certain Chinese goods will be increased. These include tripling tariffs on electric vehicle batteries to over 100% and doubling tariffs on semiconductors to 50%. The newly announced measures will impact US$18 billion worth of Chinese imports, including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, critical minerals, solar cells, and cranes.
However, despite the significant increase in tariffs on electric vehicles, the limited scale of Chinese electric vehicle imports to the U.S. means the political significance of the move outweighs its practical impact.
In the wake of increasing global interest in electric vehicles (EVs), the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) has projected substantial growth in the EV market for the year 2024, estimating a total of 17.31 million units, marking a significant 23.5% increase from the previous year.