US automaker Tesla to increase prices in China as trade war hits consumers
Today, US auto manufacturer Tesla will raise prices in China in response to American and Chinese tariffs.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump threatened new 10% tariffs on a slew of Chinese manufacture imports worth some $300 billion. In response, Beijing announced last Friday that it will levy import duties of 5-10% on $75 billion of US imports in two rounds, first on September 1, then on December 15.
China’s fresh tariffs on American automobiles and auto parts—25% and 5%, respectively—will take effect in the second round, but, as evidenced by Tesla’s move today, the fallout is already being felt.
Tesla is hardly the first company to face such challenges. Indeed, US agriculture is suffering. The sector that was once a surplus is now a trade deficit–– American food product exports to China more than halved this year. Hundreds of Midwestern farms have filed for bankruptcy this year as a result, and soybean farms have been especially hard-hit by Beijing’s tariffs.
Expect price hikes from US manufacturing and agricultural firms going forward, harming American competitiveness with no end to the trade war in sight, while stagnating two of America’s most politically powerful industries.
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