A Lack of Political Will Blocks the Way to Global Sustainability

As the Biden administration shows with its action to hike tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) imported from China, political expediency is more important to it than building a sustainable future. This stands in stark contrast to its rhetoric on global warming.

President Biden announced an increase in the tariff rate on EVs from 25% to 100% on May 14, 2024. According to his administration, China has used “subsidies and non-market practices” to give its domestic EV producers an unfair market advantage. The country’s EV exports grew 70% from 2022 to 2023, creating overcapacity risks.

China's use of unfair trade practices to gain a dominant position in a strategically important market is hardly a new story. The Chinese government is trying to export its way out of economic challenges using its traditional playbook.

In the US, combatting China’s market aggression is one of the few policy areas where there is agreement between the two main political parties. In addition, this is a presidential election year, so the need to burnish one’s China-bashing credentials is more important than usual. Defending local automotive manufacturers and fighting for US jobs plays well in an election year. President Biden and his likely challenger in 2024, Donald Trump, are trading barbs on China-related issues.

However, such political considerations are overshadowing the achievement of global sustainability goals—the aim that underpins the case for EVs.

EVs made in China are relatively cheap, so increasing their price through imposing tariffs restricts the availability of affordable vehicles in the US. Moreover, consumers’ enthusiasm for EVs is waning, risking the administration’s climate agenda.

China may indeed tilt the market for EVs in its favor with generous subsidies. However, if we are to take sustainability seriously as an existential threat, respective governments need to act forcefully to promote, rather than impede, the use of EVs.

Given the administration’s messaging and the billions of dollars invested in supporting the EV conversion through support for manufacturers and buyers, the tariffs are difficult to reconcile with its professed stand.

The explanation may be that the government does not really believe that global warming is an existential threat in the short or medium term, despite warnings from experts worldwide. Or perhaps the case for EVs is open to debate, given that coal is used to generate much of America’s electricity.

Regardless of the reason, this action will likely add to citizens’ cynicism and distrust of the American government. These misgivings compound those generated by the COVID-19 management fiasco, which is currently laid bare in congressional investigations. Such distrust in institutions is a real danger to democracy and the functioning of government.  

On a global level, these trade restrictions reflect a lack of will within governments to do little more than pay lip service to sustainability in demanding political climates. It is also symptomatic of a lack of unity internationally. Tackling existential challenges like climate change requires governments worldwide to come together to fund, develop, and implement effective responses.

For example, some time ago I suggested we need a Manhattan Project similar to the one that enabled the US to develop an atomic weapon during World War II that marshaled resources from multiple countries. A climate change equivalent would deploy various peacetime technologies to counter climate change. As I wrote in 2018:

"To bring this vision to reality, rich countries need to band together and fund not billions but trillions of dollars worth of research. There could be incentives such as the equivalent of Nobel Prizes for researchers who come up with viable solutions.”

However, even if governments launch such a global project, they will have to ask the public to make sacrifices in the short term until revolutionary technologies can be developed. Given the growing lack of trust in government, this is a tall order. As a result, any solution to the climate change crisis appears to be pushed further and further into the future.