In the 1970s, China became the world’s factory when it started allowing international manufacturers to set up shop and produce goods cheaply within its borders. Initially, Chinese factories made low-end products like plastic toys, then more sophisticated items like personal computers, smartphones, and automobiles for tech giants like Apple, Tesla, and Volkswagen.
Chinese industries have since matured: They’re making big-ticket tech products at lower costs than Western competitors. Billions in state subsidies have propelled the Chinese economy toward self-reliance in advanced manufacturing. The Chinese government’s industrial spending tallied at an estimated $406 billion, or 2% of its GDP, in 2019 alone, almost five times what the U.S. spent that year on its industries.
Economies that have benefited from China’s cheap manufacturing now fear that imports could flood their markets, widen trade deficits, and sideline their own manufacturers. Before 2018, there were virtually no global tariffs affecting China’s tech industry goods. That year, the U.S. launched a trade war against China, with President Donald Trump challenging China on “unfair” trade practices.
The EU and the U.S. have long been the most vocal critics, saying that the subsidies Beijing offers its industries have created an overabundance of cheap products in the global market, which distorts trade. China argues that its industries have simply grown more competitive, and governments shouldn’t stand in the way of good-value products for consumers. China has imposed some retaliatory duties on imports from countries that have slapped tariffs on its products.
Now, Trump is set to make new tariffs on foreign goods a central part of his economic plan in his second term as president. He has proposed slapping a “universal” tariff of 10%–20% on most foreign products, a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, and additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
But non-Western industrially advanced countries, including India, Turkey, and Vietnam have also imposed tariffs affecting China’s tech industry in recent years. “The United States kicked this ball off, got the ball rolling, but they’re not alone in viewing China’s trade practices as unfair” and using tariffs to protect and “incentivize” alternative suppliers, Stewart Paterson, senior research fellow at trade think tank Hinrich Foundation and author of China, Trade and Power, told Rest of World.
In 2024, more countries announced tariffs to stem the flow of China-made tech products, including green tech like solar panels and wind turbines, in order to protect their domestic industries — while others have put broader restrictions in place that significantly affect Chinese tech. Rest of World has identified and provided context for both types of tariffs in this guide.
E-bikes
Electric bikes have been popular in China for years, but Chinese manufacturers are increasingly looking to expand their footprints overseas. Western Europe’s bike-friendly culture has made it a prime target for Chinese exporters.
EU 🇪🇺
62%
China-Specific Tariffs | 2019
Chinese-made electric bicycles were set to take over bike-friendly Europe: Sales of electric two-wheelers from China tripled between 2014 and 2017, with market share increasing by about a third as prices dropped. Pressured by Chinese rivals, European e-bike makers dialed back production, even though the market was growing, the European Union Commission said in a report. In 2019, the EU imposed tariffs on China-made e-bikes after it found that their manufacturers had benefited from Chinese state subsidies. The tariff rate varied depending on the manufacturer and the scale of injury they caused in the European market. Around the same time, the EU also extended its tariffs of 48.5% on ordinary bicycles imported from China until 2024, a measure in place since 1993.
U.K. 🇬🇧
19% to 79%
China-Specific Tariffs | 2021
The U.K. inherited the European Union’s tariff rates on Chinese electric bikes following Brexit, but the U.K. government recommended in May that those subsidies be revoked. Keeping them in place is not in the U.K.’s economic interest, a trade authority said. Canceling the tariffs will help consumers save an average of 260 pounds ($340) per e-bike and increase sales. Any potential injury to British manufacturers would not outweigh the benefits, it said.
EVs
Betting on a future dominated by electric vehicles, China began pushing its carmakers toward making battery-powered cars in 2009, with an estimated $230 billion worth of support and favorable policies to help build a nationwide EV infrastructure. Chinese EV makers hungry for growth and wanting to go global are going head-to-head with brands like Tesla.
USA 🇺🇸
100%
China-Specific Tariffs | 2024
When President-elect Donald Trump was on the 2024 campaign trail, he vowed to slap a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles threatening American carmakers. In May, the Biden administration announced that the U.S. would raise tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100%. This, however, remains largely preemptive: China currently exports almost no EVs to the U.S., as carmakers have held back from stepping into what might be their most hostile foreign market. The U.S. has sought to distance itself from the global dominance of Chinese electric vehicle and battery supply chains through the Inflation Reduction Act.
EU 🇪🇺
7.8% to 35.3%
China-Specific Tariffs | 2024
European market share of Chinese EVs surged from 0.5% in 2019 to over 8% in 2023. Brands like BYD made news headlines at Europe’s largest auto show in late 2023. The EU launched an anti-dumping investigation against Chinese EV manufacturers shortly afterward. The commission is set to slap up to 35.3% of duties on Chinese-made EVs, even though many have started producing elsewhere, such as in Thailand. The top-selling EV models sold in Europe, Tesla’s Model 3 and Y, are also imported from China but will face a far reduced rate of 7.8%. Brussels and Beijing were reportedly in talks in November 2024 to manage the influx of Chinese EVs, using measures other than tariffs.
Canada 🇨🇦
100%
China-Specific Tariffs | 2024
Canada announced a 100% tariff on Chinese electric car imports, following the lead of the EU and the U.S., even though it has no domestic EV maker of its own to protect. Unlike the EU, Canada will impose the same rate on Tesla’s made-in-China EVs. Tesla, which can export to Canada from the U.S., stands to be the biggest winner, but the tariffs will also help America’s “Detroit Three” maintain their stronghold over North America by fending off EVs’ competition with their traditional combustion engine vehicles.
Thailand 🇹🇭
Variable
Not China-Specific | 2024-2027
Thailand, nicknamed the Detroit of Asia, is seeking to transform itself into an EV manufacturing powerhouse in Southeast Asia. Import duties on electric vehicles shipped to Thailand can be reduced on the condition that each car company manufactures a required number of cars in Thailand. The incentives benefit Chinese carmakers more than those from other regions, as they have now become the largest makers of EVs worldwide.
India 🇮🇳
15% on condition
Not China-Specific | 2024
India recently slashed its import tariffs for more expensive electric vehicles to woo manufacturers. The lower tariff rate of 15%, compared to earlier tariffs ranging from 70% to 100%, will apply to electric cars above $35,000, with several conditions: Their brands need to invest at least $500 million in local manufacturing in three years and meet other requirements. The policy is meant to entice EV producers like Tesla to India, analysts say. Days later, the Shanghai government’s SAIC Motor Corp announced a joint venture with India’s JSW Group to produce electric cars under the formerly British marque MG in the country.
Turkey 🇹🇷
10%
China-Specific Tariffs | 2024
Turkey’s tariffs on made-in-China vehicles flipped several times in the summer of 2024. The Turkish government announced that it was to impose a 40% tariff on Chinese cars, just as China’s car exports surged globally and were to soon face prohibitive tariffs in Europe and North America. The Turkish tariffs were to come into effect on July 7. But Turkey U-turned on the decision and instead reduced its tariffs on Chinese vehicles to 10% just two days prior. Days later, China’s BYD announced it was building a plant worth $1 billion in Turkey, from where it can export to the EU without tariffs. In retaliation, China filed a dispute against Turkey’s EV tariffs with the World Trade Organization in October.
Automobiles
Starting in the 1980s, the Chinese government welcomed European and American carmakers to use China as a major manufacturing hub. Chinese gas cars have yet to be considered the best or the most reliable, but brands such as Great Wall Motor and Chery are now offering increasingly competitive products that have won over a sizable number of buyers in countries from Thailand to Brazil.
Vietnam 🇻🇳
50%
China-Specific tariffs | 2022
Chinese imports of assembled automobiles to Vietnam face 50% tariffs under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement. Vietnam’s hefty tariffs on whole vehicles imported from abroad has shielded its homegrown electric vehicle marker, VinFast, from highly competitive Chinese carmakers. Vietnam lifted all tariffs on imported car components that are not produced locally, to incentivize manufacturing investment there. Chinese EV giant BYD chose to manufacture in nearby Thailand instead and export to Vietnam free of tariffs under free trade agreements among ASEAN members.
India 🇮🇳
125%
Not China-Specific | 1940s
India’s tariffs on automobile imports are among the world’s highest. This forces carmakers to invest in local production plants. Over the years, the likes of General Motors, Kia, and China’s SAIC have opened factories in India to produce and sell cars there, bringing billions of dollars in investments to the country.
Solar cells
China is a world leader in solar technology, and Beijing has been subsidizing the industry since 2009. World governments have set ambitious goals to draw more energy from renewable sources to counter climate change. This ramps up the need for more clean energy products that China has on offer at low prices, but some governments appear to be responding to pressure from stakeholders, such as American solar panel producers who have called China’s dominance an “existential threat to the U.S. solar industry and American energy security.”
USA 🇺🇸
50%
China-Specific Tariffs | 2024
In 2014, the U.S. Commerce Department approved steep tariffs ranging from 11% to 78% on solar panels imported from China and cells from Taiwan. The department said Chinese manufacturers had unfairly benefited from government subsidies. Following America’s lead, other regions, including Canada and the EU, also slapped tariffs on Chinese solar panels. In May 2024, the Biden administration announced that the U.S. will again raise its tariff rate on Chinese-made solar cells, from 25% to 50%, to protect itself against “China’s policy-driven overcapacity,” the White House said.
India 🇮🇳
25% to 40%
Not China-Specific | 2021
India announced that it would raise tariffs on around 30 products in early 2021, including solar cells, chargers, and automobiles as well as electronics and agricultural products. These duties don’t single out China as an exporter, but some of the targeted products, such as solar cells and panels, mostly impact China, as it is the main country exporting those products. These duties were meant to reduce imports from China and to encourage local production, analysts have said. Despite the tariffs, however, India remained one of China’s top export markets for solar modules between 2023 and 2024.
South Africa 🇿🇦
10%
Not China-Specific | 2024
South African authorities introduced a 10% tariff on solar module and panel imports in July 2024. The tariffs are meant to protect local manufacturers, authorities said, as they were discouraged from investing in their production due to competition from cheap imports. This primarily impacts China, as it is a major exporter of solar panels and their parts.
Semiconductors
Semiconductors are the tiny computational engines propelling all electronic devices, from light switches to supercomputers. China is working hard to develop advanced semiconductors. U.S. restrictions meant to stymie China’s ambitions in semiconductors is part of ongoing tech competition between the two countries. A global shortage in semiconductors during Covid-19 supply chain disruptions may have also led governments to rethink their dependency on Chinese chips.
USA 🇺🇸
50%
China-Specific Tariffs | 2025
The U.S. will raise its tariffs on semiconductors imported from China starting in 2025, from 25% to 50%, the White House announced in May. While U.S. chip design firms such as Nvidia and Taiwan’s TSMC dominate in cutting-edge chips needed for advanced computing, such as training AI models, China is growing its share in the market of legacy semiconductors used for simpler functions, such as logic, power, or radio frequency. Without the tariffs, the U.S. risks letting China dominate the production of small parts crucial for the most basic functions in any electric device — the shortage of which, following the pandemic, has ensnarled global supply chains, according to the Biden administration.
India 🇮🇳
20%
China-Specific Tariffs | Recent rate
India imposes a 20% tariff on semiconductors and similar devices to help the country join the ranks as a chipmaking power. Some domestic industry groups say the tariffs are a burden to their business, but the government hopes to enable the country to manufacture chips on its own. In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced $12.5 billion worth of investments in domestic chip fabricators; these include India’s first chip fab by Tata Group, which is expected to begin producing wafers in 2026.
Consumer electronics
China has long manufactured all sorts of consumer electronics for Western brands that relied on their factories in the country to produce at lower costs. During his first term as president, Donald Trump sought to “rebalance” trade with China and encourage U.S. companies to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. by placing tariffs on thousands of products, including many made-in-China devices and appliances found in almost all American households.
USA 🇺🇸
15% to 30%
China-Specific Tariffs | 2018-2019
In 2018, the U.S. launched an all-out trade war against China, when then-President Trump challenged China on allegedly unfair trade practices by imposing hefty tariffs on a significant portion of its exports to the U.S. After months of negotiations, the Trump administration announced that some $200 billion worth of Chinese imports would face added tariffs, including many consumer electronics items. China vowed to retaliate and imposed tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods. These included agricultural and food products and consumer appliances.
India 🇮🇳
10% to 20%
Not China-Specific | 2020
India raised its duty on several personal electronics and home appliances from 10% to 20% in 2020. These included products such as cameras, monitors, projectors, recorders, ovens, toasters, and hair dryers. These tariff hikes were announced during the country’s 2020 budget and were most likely to impact the primary exporter of these products, China. The tariffs would spur the domestic manufacturing sectors, in line with the Indian government’s “Make in India” initiative announced in 2014, which seeks to transform the country into a development and manufacturing hub.
Wind turbines
As it did with solar panels, China has supported the development and production of wind turbines in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Around 60% of the world’s wind turbine production capacity comes from China; it has also developed vastly more turbine models than other countries.
Mexico 🇲🇽
5%
Not China-Specific | 2024
Mexico raised its tariffs for more than 500 products in early 2024, which include wind turbines, parts of electrical appliances, and a range of other products from metals to textiles. China is a primary exporter for many of these products. Mexico’s tariff hikes came just as it was facing pressure from the U.S. to stop China from using Mexico as a re-export hub to circumvent American tariffs.
This post was originally published on here
