Should the government add or increase tariffs on products imported into the country?

US and UK launch crackdown on Russian metals trade

The US and the UK have launched a crackdown on trades in Russian metals, in a move designed to limit Moscow’s export revenue and restrict its ability to fund the war in Ukraine.The action, announced by the two countries on Friday, marks an aggressive effort by the allies to damage Russia’s income — but could disrupt trading at exchanges including the London Metal Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange.“Our new prohibitions on key metals, in co-ordination with our partners in the United Kingdom, will continue to target the revenue Russia can earn to continue its brutal war against Ukraine,” said Janet Yellen, the US Treasury secretary.She added that the US and UK were “taking this action in a targeted and responsible manner” in order to protect “our partners and allies from unwanted spillover effects”.The action will affect trade in aluminium, nickel and copper. Officials said Russia had made $40bn from sales of the metals over the past two years, while it has been fighting in Ukraine.Russia supplies about 6 per cent of the world’s aluminium, 5 per cent of nickel and 4 per cent of copper, according to CRU Group, a consultancy.The US and UK have placed sanctions on several Russian metals producers already but the move on Friday is the first time that it has placed a blanket ban on certain Russian minerals trading on the world’s largest metals exchanges.

Will China Drive Its Electric Cars In From Mexico?

Imported Chinese cars already make up 20% of Mexican auto sales, and Chinese sales are growing rapidly after the Mexican government suspended tariffs on EVs through September. But the real prize for Chinese companies is to the north—last year, almost 12 times as many light vehicles were sold in the U.S. as in the Mexican market.From Monterrey, Chinese companies can get EVs to the U.S. market at a much lower tariff cost than if they shipped directly from China. American trade law applies only a 2.5% tariff on auto imports from Mexico that don’t comply with the USMCA’s automobile rules of origin because they get a substantive portion of their components from outside states party to the deal. With all the money Beijing pumps into its EV sector, this is still a good deal for Chinese companies. A BYD Seal made in China retails for 12% less than a Tesla Model 3 in Mexico. With that kind of price advantage, a Mexican subsidiary of a Chinese automaker could manufacture an electric vehicle with a battery and other components from China and export it to the U.S. competitively even after paying the tariff. If a Chinese automaker brought enough of its supply chain to Mexico—including battery production—its cars could even meet regional content requirements and avoid American tariffs altogether.

Mexico Is Helping China Win The Trade War Against U.S.

To circumvent tariffs imposed on its exports to the United States, China is increasing its use of Mexico as a conduit. Beijing’s particular focus is on its automobile export market.Its motive isn’t complicated. Cars and car parts imported from Mexico face tariffs of 0%-6%. Meanwhile, cars and car parts imported directly from China pay 25%.As China struggles to boost economic growth, a strategic priority for Xi Jinping’s Communist Party, tariff evasion makes good sense. But from America’s perspective, it should be unacceptable. The U.S. should force Mexico to ensure it is not helping China undermine U.S. tariffs.The U.S. import market is too important to Mexico for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to ignore. According to the World Bank, U.S.-destined exports account for 78% of Mexico’s export market. Even a small reduction would cause significant harm to Mexico’s economy. While Obrador’s preferred candidate is leading in the polls for the June presidential election, economic strife with the U.S. might threaten this lead.The U.S. could warn Mexico that unless it introduces legislation to ensure Chinese conformity with U.S. tariff payments, Washington will slap tariffs on one or more of the big three Mexico-to-U.S. export sectors. These are the automobile, machinery, and electrical equipment sectors. Exports approach 45% of Mexico’s total gross domestic product. The country could not easily tolerate even moderate U.S. tariff actions.Chinese-manufactured cars are not as problematic as the fentanyl that China floods across the U.S.-Mexico border, but they do represent a deliberate effort to damage American prosperity. They are central to Xi’s effort to destroy the U.S. automobile industry by flooding the marketplace with cheaper Chinese cars. Xi is applying the same strategy toward the European Union, earning rare ire from Sino-friendly French President Emmanuel Macron.China’s cars are cheaper for two reasons. First, union domination of U.S. and European automakers makes them inefficient. Unions divert resources from productive enterprises toward unsustainable salaries and pensions. Second, China blatantly subsidizes its automakers, making a mockery of World Trade Organization rules. These subsidies prompted the Trump administration to impose tariffs on China in the first place.This isn’t ultimately about Mexico, of course. The U.S. should seek mutually productive economic relations with Mexico. Benefitting from its trade with the U.S., Mexico has been able to develop its economy, improve the lives of its people, and reduce Mexican-origin immigrant pressure on the U.S. border. All of these things are positive. We should hope trade with Mexico grows. What is not positive is China’s manipulation of Mexico to serve its own ends. Obrador and his government must be made to understand that the U.S. will not allow Beijing’s deceptions to continue, and Washington will take all necessary action to ensure they are ended

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