U.S. tariffs on China

With the incoming president's renewed threats of massive tariffs on China, it’s worth revisiting whether such policies actually achieve the desired result.

Parsing Trump’s China policy – and China’s likely response. 

These two terms represent the conceptual foundations of each candidate's economic security policies, especially regarding China. But what do they actually mean?

Critical minerals sit at the intersection of three policy objectives for the United States – and at times the security, economic, and climate aims are in direct contradiction.

Maximizing economic efficiency, the goal of most critics of tariffs, will not deliver national security.

Strategic competition with China is of vital national interest to the United States, and that is precisely why feedback from Asian allies and partners matters.

The Biden administration’s strategy to compete with China’s dominance hasn’t won buy-in from Republicans, who are skeptical about the entire industry.

Both China and the U.S. are looking to tariffs and other trade barriers to protect their clean energy industries. The outcome is likely to be a more protectionist world economy.

Washington should draw from Beijing’s industrial policies, avoid its pitfalls, and leverage America’s unique strengths to outshine China in the global EV market.

The targeted and restrained nature of the latest round of tariffs suggests the U.S. and China are unlikely to engage in a full-scale trade war this year. But the situation remains precarious. 

As China's overcapacity becomes a buzzword, restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles are expected. However, the objectives, approaches, and anticipated outcomes differ between Europe and the U.S.