Industry officials agree with former President Donald Trump’s suggestion that China is looking to decimate U.S. auto manufacturing on President Joe Biden’s watch.
In a speech in Ohio on Saturday, President Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping that if President Xi Jinping is re-elected in November, China’s major automakers will be able to buy cheap electric cars without being hit with huge tariffs. (EV) cannot be exported to the US market.
Most recently, there have been reports that China’s BYD is planning to build an EV factory in Mexico to export cars to the US at lower prices, giving it an edge over US-made competitors and It will dominate the market.
President Trump said it would be a “bloodbath” for American autoworkers if Biden allowed such behavior from China.
“If you’re listening to President Xi, I say to China, you and I are friends, but President Xi understands how to deal with me. A monster car factory, and if you’re going to take it, you’re not going to hire Americans, you’re going to sell us cars, no,” Trump said.
We are going to impose a 100 percent tariff on every car that crosses this line. And if I win, I won’t be able to sell those cars. If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a disaster for the whole thing, it’s going to be a disaster for the country at least. That would be the bare minimum. [Emphasis added]
Several industry players, including autoworkers, agree with President Trump.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in January that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “will suffer significant damage” if the United States does not impose huge tariffs on Chinese EVs.[ed]” American Automobile Industry.
“Chinese car companies are the most competitive car companies in the world…so I think they will have great success outside of China, depending on what tariffs and trade barriers are established,” Musk said. spoke at Tesla’s financial results conference.
Frankly, I think, If trade barriers are not established, most other companies will be destroyed In the world. [Emphasis added]
In February, the Alliance of American Manufacturers (AAM) released the following statement: report It details the potential for an “extinction-level event” for U.S. autoworkers if Biden allows China to export cheap EVs to the U.S. market.
“The introduction of cheap Chinese-made cars into the US market is backed by the power and funding of the Chinese government, making them very cheap, but ultimately harmful to the US automobile sector, which is the centerpiece of the nation. could become an extinction-level event.’The economy is impeccable,’ AAM experts wrote.
But more worryingly, Chinese companies are spending heavily on factories in Mexico, which gives them access to the United States through more favorable tariffs. Under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The strategy is effectively an effort to gain backdoor access to American consumers by circumventing existing policies that keep Chinese cars out of the U.S. market. [Emphasis added]
This is the Chinese state-backed automobile industry. We are investing heavily in overseas markets to increase our access to overseas markets. And there are reasons to be alarmed that Chinese cars and parts will simply gain more access to the U.S. market, overcoming existing tariffs and circumventing existing trade enforcement measures. It directly challenges domestic automakers and threatens the jobs of millions of American manufacturing workers. [Emphasis added]
Like Mr. Trump, AAM experts point to raising tariffs on China as the number one policy prescription for preventing the U.S. auto industry from disappearing.
One of the AAM’s “policy recommendations” is to “impose exclusionary tariffs on all automobiles imported into the United States from China, including both electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles.” “This could be accomplished through existing Section 301 tariffs imposed in 2018 and currently under consideration, or by initiating new investigations under Section 301 or other U.S. laws.”
Earlier this year, the United Auto Workers (UAW) comment He urged U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to increase tariffs on foreign cars, including electric vehicles.
UAW President Sean Fein I have written Dear Tai:
The UAW specifically calls for an increase. [most-favored nation] Tariff rates for cars and car parts, especially electric cars and related parts. The US is clearly out of step with the rest of the world in that it only has 2.5%. [most-favored nation] Tariff rates for light vehicles and parts. Given the current overcapacity for electric vehicles and electric vehicle parts, a temporary or permanent increase in electric vehicle rates would create room for a nascent electric vehicle industry to take root in the country. [Emphasis added]
Ford Motor Co. executive Malin Gyaja expressed great concern over the weekend about the China threat mentioned by President Trump, Bloomberg reported. report:
“They’re ahead of us in this technology,” Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer of Ford’s Model E EV division, said Wednesday. “We look at it and say, “That will happen eventually, so we better get in shape now and get into EVs. If we don’t, we have no future as a company.” [Emphasis added]
Gyaja said the potential for cheap Chinese EVs in the U.S. market is a “huge strategic threat” to the U.S. auto industry, including Ford.
of economist And that financial times Articles published in the past few months have warned of similar consequences if Biden takes no action.
“Chinese automakers are expanding into Mexico, which has a free trade agreement with the U.S., and as long as the putative factories use enough locally made parts, their production volumes will exceed U.S. regulations. They will be able to avoid heavy tariffs.” economist report In January.
Even those in Washington, D.C., who are often thought to be the least proactive, are using China as a warning that U.S. leaders will not tolerate unfair trade practices at the expense of the country’s workers and middle class. They are lobbying the Biden administration to completely halt free trade with the United States.
“Congress should act.” [China] Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Communist Party of China, said, “Restore U.S. economic influence to the new tariff column. [China] Adhering to trade commitments, not engaging in coercive or other unfair trade practices, and reducing U.S. dependence on China. [Chinese] Imports in areas important to national and economic security. ”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Please email jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
