Will Trump’s duties on China-made rechargeable batteries cause drones, phones, toys and electric cars to run out of power?
- China, the largest supplier of rechargeable batteries for the past seven years, accounted for more than half of lithium-ion batteries imported into US in the first six months of 2019
American manufacturers of rechargeable electronic devices will be scrambling with a dilemma starting Monday: pass a 15 per cent import duty on China-made batteries to customers, or find alternative sources from China to power their smartphones, drones, or electric vehicles.
These batteries, used in rechargeable products from personal computers to shavers are mostly made in China, the largest exporter of lithium-ion cells to the US for the past seven years. Chinese producers made up US$872.8 million, or more than half of all lithium-ion batteries imported by the US in the first six months of this year.
“Imposition of duties on key components required for the US energy storage industry would constitute a major – and a completely unnecessary – step backwards in achieving the US energy policy goal of a more secure grid for all Americans,” Kelly Speakes-Backman, the chief executive of the Energy Storage Association (ESA) said in a June 17 letter to the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) objecting to the tariffs.
Tariffs on Chinese-made lithium-ion batteries “will raise costs to utilities and electric customers using battery storage for electric system modernisation and resilience” as the batteries are not available from US suppliers to a “meaningful degree,” said the ESA, a trade group of companies working to modernise the American electric grid.