White House levy to protect US makers from cheap imports likely to inflame trade tensions

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.

  • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    6 months ago

    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…

    • steventrouble@programming.dev
      0·
      6 months ago

      Uyghur slavery represents a very small fraction of Chinese labor. Yes, it is a human rights abuse and should absolutely be stopped, but bringing it up every time someone talks about a Chinese product with no known ties to slave labor is an anti-asian dogwhistle.

      China is a big place, with 10x as many people as in the U.S. Let’s try not to generalize about 3 billion people.

    • guacupado@lemmy.world
      0·
      6 months ago

      Tell me how much money the CEOs make then tell me how much worker wages have to do with how expensive the cars are.

      • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        6 months ago

        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?

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
          0·
          6 months ago

          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.