Inventor backs Trump on tariffs
US president Donald Trump has spent the last week railing against trade policies that allegedly put US companies at a disadvantage. Although economists, fact-checkers and even members of his own party have called Trump’s trade analysis into question, inventor and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk appears to agree (in part) with him.
Musk, 46, was a member of Trump’s advisory council before stepping down following the president’s decision in June to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.
Amid a series of tweets yesterday, Musk – apparently frustrated by China’s import duties – compared its trade policy to ‘‘competing in an Olympic race wearing lead shoes’’.
Musk made his argument after responding to a Trump tweet demanding that China reduce its trade deficit with the US.
‘‘Do you think the US and China should have equal and fair rules for cars?’’ Musk tweeted. ‘‘Meaning, same import duties, ownership constraints and other factors.’’
Musk continued to lay out his frustration with the current trade relationship, pointing out a significant disparity in the import duties each country places on the other nation’s cars.
He tweeted: ‘‘For example, an American car going to China pays 25 per cent import duty, but a Chinese car coming to the US only pays 2.5 per cent, a tenfold difference.’’
‘‘I am against import duties in general, but the current rules make things very difficult. It’s like competing in an Olympic race wearing lead shoes.’’
Musk also noted that US auto companies in China were barred from owning ‘‘even 50 per cent of their own factory,’’ while there are five ‘‘100 per cent China-owned EV auto companies in the US’’.
Trump did not immediately respond to Musk’s flurry of tweets.
The president said he would introduce tariffs of 25 per cent on imported steel and 10 per cent on aluminum.