American electric vehicle giant Tesla is one of many auto industry companies that is now suffering the consequences of the trade war between the United States and China. The company has faced a shortage of critical parts, graphite, and other materials since the US administration raised tariffs on a range of Chinese goods.
New rules for the import of Chinese products were set out in the midst of the US-China trade war declared by Donald Trump, the ex-president of the United States. The consequences of this decision are weighing on the country to this day. In the light of global supply-chain woes, some American companies are forced to raise the real price of goods. Tesla is lobbying for waiving tariffs on graphite imported to the United States from China. The electric vehicle giant uses graphite to produce lithium-ion batteries for its cars. “As a result of Tesla’s due diligence process for suppliers of artificial graphite, globally and in the United States, Tesla has concluded that no company in the United States is currently capable of producing artificial graphite to the required specifications and capacity needed for Tesla’s production,” the electric-car maker said in a statement.
Battery maker SK Innovation, via its SK Battery America subsidiary, also made a similar entreaty. “A renewed exclusion will allow SK to manufacture quality breakthrough electric vehicle components at competitive prices for American OEMs, while creating full-time jobs that support American families,” the company emphasized.
