U.S. delays launch of tariffs on Chinese EVs and battery materials

The U.S. has again delayed plans to enact massive tariffs on Chinese products, including EVs and materials for their batteries, along with semiconductor chips and solar cells.

On Friday, the Biden administration said it would make final decisions on the tariffs soon, though it’s still working on making a determination for the proposed plans, according to a report from Automotive News. The country has been expected to launch tariffs of 100 percent on Chinese EVs, 50 percent on semiconductors and solar cells, and 25 percent on crucial materials used for EV batteries, building on tariffs enacted by Former President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) says it “continues to develop the final determination regarding proposed modifications” to the tariffs.

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“USTR continues to develop the final determination regarding proposed modifications of the actions in the Section 301 investigation of the People’s Republic of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation,” a USTR spokesperson said in a statement.

“As USTR continues this work, we expect to make the final determination public in the coming days,” the agency added.

The increased tariffs were initially set to go live at the beginning of this month, though on July 30, the USTR announced that it would be delaying the plans until around September. As for why, the agency noted that it was evaluating over 1,100 public comments from those across the automotive industry, setting a later deadline of August 31.

The Friday announcement pushes the plans back even further, though it’s still not clear when the agency plans to launch the tariffs. The news also comes after Canada proposed similar tariffs last week, and after the European Union (EU) launched massive tariffs on Chinese EVs in recent months.

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