Biden’s Chinese EV and solar tariffs: Big boost or hot air?
On the heels of a climate and energy rules blitz, President Biden has announced a plan to quadruple existing tariffs on Chinese EVs – from 25 all the way up to 100 percent – and dramatically hike tariffs on Chinese solar cells, batteries, and critical minerals as well. While these numbers look huge on paper, loopholes and caveats in the policy will likely dilute their impact. On this episode of Political Climate, hosts Julia Pyper, Brandon Hurlbut, and Emily Domenech debate whether the tariffs will boost American EV and solar production, or if they add up to little more than political posturing. Then they zoom out to consider a series of new polls showing that despite the President’s wide-ranging efforts – and $1.6 trillion of funds in the IRA – a plurality of voters appear unaware of Biden’s efforts to fight climate change. The show wraps up with some rapid fire hot takes in our new segment “The Mark-up.” Subscribe to Latitude Media’s newsletter to get weekly updates on tech, markets, policy, and deals across clean energy and climate tech.