On July 6, 2018, the United States began to increase the tax on China's products worth $34billion by 25%. On August 23 of the same year, the tax on the second batch of products worth $16billion was increased by 25%. On May 10, 2019, the tax on the third batch of products worth $200billion was increased by 25%. This means that a total of US $250billion of products exported to the United States will pay high tax rates. In addition, trump also said that he was considering imposing additional tax rates on the remaining US $300billion of products exported to China. It is understood that the products with increased tax rates almost cover all walks of life. Some industries specialized in exporting to the United States will inevitably be hit. At a time when the export situation to the United States is grim, has the domestic export of lithium-ion batteries also been affected?

The micro lithium battery team has sorted out three tax lists issued by the U.S. government. From the list, the following battery products are clearly listed:

First batch:

　　Second batch:

　　The third batch:

From the above three tables, the batteries included in the US tax rate increase are mainly aimed at all kinds of disposable batteries. In addition, the components of primary batteries and batteries, nickel containing batteries partially used in motor vehicles, lead-acid batteries, etc. are also included, while lithium ion batteries are not involved.

Although the list does not involve the lithium-ion battery product itself, it does involve the materials and equipment related to the battery industry. The first batch of lists includes all kinds of electrical equipment and mechanical equipment, which has a certain impact on domestic enterprises exporting relevant battery manufacturing equipment. However, except the United States, the demand for the battery industry in Europe, countries along the the Belt and Road and other countries is growing. Under such circumstances, turning to them may find a broader new market.

In terms of battery raw materials, the third batch lists a large number of chemical supplies and metal materials. Such as lithium carbonate, lithium oxide, aluminum, cobalt, etc.

　The development of China's battery industry is at a rapid stage. Most of the raw materials for lithium-ion batteries depend on imports. Under such circumstances, it may be more than enough to export a large number of raw materials to the United States, so it has little impact on the industry. China's electric vehicles are the leader in the development of battery industry, while ternary lithium-ion batteries currently occupy a leading position in electric vehicles. The metals required for ternary batteries are mainly lithium, nickel, cobalt, etc. in terms of output, the largest producer of cobalt is Congo, and the largest producers of lithium are Australia and Chile respectively. According to the data of 2018, China imported 163 tons of refined nickel from the United States, accounting for 0.00057%, while China exported 320 tons of refined nickel to the United States, accounting for 2.2%. It can be seen that the transaction volume between China and the United States is not large, whether it is export or import. In addition, the domestic nickel resources in the United States are seriously scarce, and the battery industry is very developed, so the demand for nickel is high. In this case, it is of no benefit to China to increase the tax rate on nickel export.

Except for ternary lithium battery, it has no significant impact on the export of lithium iron phosphate battery for the time being. It should be acknowledged that the technology and cost advantages of ternary lithium batteries in Europe, America, Japan and South Korea are higher than those in China. However, in terms of lithium iron phosphate batteries, China's cost advantages are becoming increasingly prominent. Many battery enterprises have emerged with huge overseas business volume, and China's battery production capacity is strong. The United States needs domestic production advantages.

To sum up, the US tax rate hike has little impact on the export of China's battery industry, especially on the lithium-ion battery industry. However, people in various industries still need to be vigilant. If China and the United States cannot continue negotiations, no one can ensure that the US tax on China's $300billion products will further affect the lithium-ion battery industry.

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