00:00There's one thing that's quintessentially American. Cars. Yes, Americans love their cars.
00:07Last year, more than 16 million vehicles were sold nationwide. The U.S. auto market,
00:12the world's second largest after China, is also a huge prize for automakers around the globe.
00:18But there's one type of car you don't see much on American roads.
00:22Chinese cars. Especially Chinese EVs. In some ways, the U.S. EV market looks pretty unusual to the
00:31rest of the world. Look at the top 5 best-selling EVs in 2025. Tesla Model Y, Chevrolet Equinox,
00:37and Ford Mustang Mach-E. Meanwhile, in neighboring Mexico, it's a completely different story.
00:43The best-selling EVs either come from Chinese brands or are backed by Chinese capital.
00:47That's right. Chinese EV makers are rapidly expanding across Latin America and increasingly
00:53the European continent. So why haven't they made inroads in the U.S.? One big reason.
00:59Tariff. Tariff. Tariff. Tariff. Let me show you.
01:02If today you want to import a Chinese EV into the U.S., you first need to cover a base
01:072.5%
01:08most favored nation tariff, which applies to passenger vehicles from WTO trading partners.
01:14Then, in 2024, the Biden administration quadrupled the Section 301 tariff on China's EVs to 100%.
01:21Last year, the Trump administration imposed an additional Section 232 25% tariff on imported
01:28passenger vehicles, citing national security concerns.
01:31Under these tariffs, a BYD Auto II, which starts at around 20,000 euros pre-EU tariffs,
01:38will cost around $50,000 in America.
01:41Starting from 2024, the EU has also taken action on Chinese EVs, mostly through anti-subsidy tariffs.
01:49But the scale is still much smaller than those in the U.S.
01:52We're continuing to see exports into the EU from the Chinese EV makers.
01:57So the tariff rate doesn't seem to be deterring the Chinese, although we're seeing the EU start to bear some
02:06fruit.
02:06You know, Spain has been a hotbed of foreign direct investment from Chinese battery makers and EV makers.
02:12But the EU, I think, is also trying to balance allowing exports into the European Union as long as the
02:20Chinese commit long-term to building locally.
