US president Joe Biden has pushed to grow US industry as a direct competitor with China, after an announcement on 14 May that increased tariffs were being introduced on imports of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminium and other goods.
The new measures include a 100% border tax on EVs from China, up from a previous 25% rate, increasing tensions amid reports of falling trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Other hikes include the raising of tariffs on semiconductors and solar cells from 25% to 50%, syringes and needles from 0% to 50% and lithium-ion batteries from 7.5% to 25%.
Biden added: “Whether it’s gas, electric or hybrid, we’re never going to allow China to unfairly control the market for these cars — period,” after accusing China of “cheating” with unfair trade policies to get ahead in the global EV market.
Chiefly, Biden hopes to reduce China’s dominance in the global EV market and preserve US jobs. The Chinese commerce ministry responded negatively to the measures, stating it would retaliate and that the moves would damage efforts to establish bilateral cooperation between the two superpowers.
Back in 2022, Biden announced a funding package for industry to boost domestic manufacturing and secure key supply chains.
In response to this, a global robotics maker recently announced a significant expansion of its main robot manufacturing facility in the US to match growing demand for reshored production in the automotive, packaging and machinery sectors.
Robotics company ABB said it hoped to address labour challenges and supply-chain disruptions with the expanded Michigan site and has dedicated US$20m (£15.8m) to the project.
Biden’s stimulus has led to increased demand for solutions to improve manufacturing efficiency, with the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) recently reporting that US manufacturers are investing heavily in automation.
Combined estimates from ABB and IFR suggest that the US ranks as the third-largest market in the global robotics industry and is worth approximately US$50bn (£39.6bn) annually.
“The US market is particularly interesting because it is more open to foreign businesses because it does not have its own domestic brands,” commented Susanne Bieller, general secretary of IFR.
“That’s different to China where they are trying to develop their own and Japan which is dominated by its own players.”
