Dilok Klaisataporn/Shutterstock Save for later Print Download Share China has built a veritable empire around clean technologies like batteries, solar panels and electric vehicles (EVs). China鈥檚 dominance in these sectors has made it the world鈥檚 lowest-cost supplier for many energy transition technologies and has also raised the ire of US trade hawks who have charged China with dumping some products and undercutting US manufacturers. As today鈥檚 US-China trade war drags on, flows of certain clean energy products to the US are likely to slow further. But growing demand globally could insulate Chinese suppliers from too much damage as they find other markets outside the US. Tariffs against China鈥檚 cleantech sector are not new, and many of them predate the US鈥� more recent escalation of tariff threats against countries around the world. Last year, former President Joe Biden ratcheted up levies that included a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, a 25% tariff on lithium-ion EV batteries and a 50% tariff on photovoltaic solar cells. The EV tariffs and separate levies on wind turbines have kept those products largely out of the US market. However, Chinese solar and battery products proliferate in the US, and US efforts to bring back some of that manufacturing capacity to North American shores could be challenged by the broader supply chain disruption of the escalating tariff fight with China.
