‘Decisive action needed to shield EV sector from China’

WASHINGTON: The US must take “decisive” action to protect electric vehicles (EVS) from subsidized Chinese competition, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday as she completes a review of Trump-era China tariffs and considers President Joe Biden’s call for higher tariffs on imports of Chinese steel.

Tai told a US Senate Finance Commitee hearing that the US needed to create a level playing field for US workers and that Biden’s call for higher “Section 301” tariffs on Chinese steel imports means that “we are in very, very advanced stages of our interagency work, and I expect that we will come to conclusion very soon.” She said that China’s “anti-competitive practices,” including “enormous amounts of state support,” had fostered overproduction of solar panels a decade ago that devastated US producers.

Tai said the US was now facing a similar situation with EVS and the automotive sector, and leaving Chinese competition unchecked would cause the US to lose the ability to produce those products.

“So we have to take early action, decisive action and we have to be really clear about why we’re taking the action,” she said. “We are looking for a level playing field because the current playing field is not level, for all the talk about free trade.” Tai added that the current dynamics in the global EV industry is a significant factor in the Biden administration’s examination of its trade tools.

USTR announced on Wednesday that it had opened a new unfair trade practices investigation into China’s “acts, policies and practices” to dominate the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.