Tariffs may end Chinese car imports before they start
A SMALL-but- growing number of Chinese- assembled cars making their way to the US auto market could be under threat as the Trump administration looks to slap a 25 per cent duty on about US$ 50 billion worth of imported goods.
So far, sales of Chinesemade cars in the US have been minimal. Geely Automobile Holdings- owned Volvo Cars started importing S60 sedans from the country in 2015.
General Motors has followed with the Buick Envision SUV and Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid, with both selling in the US in small numbers: 4,367 Envisions were sold in the US last month, less than 1.5 per cent of GM’s total sales, plus only 17 plugin Cadillac CT6s, according to Autodata Corp.
“At this point, the decision would put on hold any plans to import cars,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, adding that “it’s really ploy to get the Chinese to the table.”
If getting the Chinese to negotiate was the Trump administration’s aim, the effort may have backfired. China threatened to retaliate with its
At this point, the decision would put on hold any plans to import cars, it’s really ploy to get the Chinese to the table.
own 25 per cent levy on around US$ 50 billion of US imports including cars, chemicals, soybeans and aircraft. That could spell additional pain for US carmakers like Tesla Inc., which makes all of its vehicles in the US and will rely on exports to China for nine per cent of revenue this year, according to Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Ben Kallo.
Elon Musk’s carmaker is already hindered by China’s current 25 per cent import tax that catapults the sticker prices of Model S sedans and Model X crossovers beyond the means of most consumers. — Bloomberg
Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive