Americans are being blocked from driving the ‘world’s best electric car’ and there’s a specific reason why.
The Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has been making waves in the industry, passing Tesla to become the top-selling EV firm globally.
According to BYD, its new technology enables users to charge up their cars in just five minutes, with some models even being able to operate as a boat in water for short distances.
However, despite this, Americans won’t be getting their hands on a BYD car anytime soon.
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Why are Americans banned from using BYD electric cars?
It all comes down to the new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump that have effectively doubled the price of imported Chinese cars.
The US significantly raised its tariffs on EVs coming in from China this year, going up from 25% to a whopping 100%.
Just last year, Jim Farley, who is the chief executive of Ford, warned that Chinese EVs pose an existential threat, while Elon Musk argued that they will ‘demolish’ the competition if trade barriers are put into place.
Many people have taken to social media to share their own reactions to the news that US residents won’t be able to buy BYD vehicles.
On Reddit, one user wrote: “As the world turns more to EV's this puts China ahead of the competition. The world will eventually go electric as battery technology advances. The question is will the rest of the world be able to catch up?”
In response, a user replied with: “America was already 5 yrs behind. With Trump, we will be lucky to catch up next century.”
Another said: “We can’t seem to get out of our own way. Instead of investing 160 billion $ in our country’s future, we’re using it to expand a police state and prison infrastructure, building real and administrative walls, and chasing our immigrant workforce.”
And a third person added: “Because yankees are not as free as they thought. They sold their freedom for cheap products available whenever their heart desired. They are ruled by the Billionaire class.”
Trump’s announcements of new import tariffs sent the stock market into a meltdown in April.
The president revealed that he would be putting fees onto goods being imported into the country from nearly every country on the planet.
Trump shared that he was doing this in order to promote a growth of jobs within the US.
However, after the US economy was thrown into jeopardy, Trump later announced that he would put a 90-day pause on the tariffs - apart from the harsh ones placed on China.