Experts urge US to replace broad Chinese EV curbs with targeted safeguards

Experts have urged the United States to replace broad restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles with a more targeted approach that allows room for cooperation with Chinese carmakers and battery manufacturers. They warned that the current “wholesale restrictions” could cause US carmakers to lose global market share.

Experts seek strategic engagement

The experts said the United States should engage with Chinese carmakers and battery manufacturers “strategically”, while using targeted safeguards instead of broad restrictions. Their argument centres on combining protection for the US market with opportunities for automakers to pursue commercial arrangements.

“We need to consider strategic partnerships,” said John Helveston, an associate professor at George Washington University, during a discussion on Tuesday. “So not just wholesale restrictions, but look at some of the best opportunities and let automakers pursue things like licensing agreements and other agreements with some targeted safeguards,” he added.

Helveston’s proposal would allow automakers to explore licensing and other agreements while retaining safeguards, rather than facing restrictions across the board. The experts’ position is that such a calibrated approach could help US carmakers avoid losing ground in global competition.

Sourabh Gupta, resident senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies, described protectionism in a globally scaled and competitive market as “an act of severe self-harm”. His assessment adds a broader warning that restricting engagement in a competitive global market could damage the interests the measures are intended to protect.

Source: South China Morning Post