China Explores Limiting Its EV and Battery Exports For US Tariff Negotiations

'China is considering trying to blunt greater U.S. tariffs and other trade barriers,' reports the Wall Street Journal, 'by offering to curb the quantity of certain goods exported to the U.S., according to advisers to the Chinese government.'
Tokyo's adoption of so-called voluntary export restraints, or VERs, to limit its auto shipments to the U.S. in the 1980s helped prevent Washington from imposing higher import duties. A similar move from Beijing, especially in sectors of key concern to Washington, like electric vehicles and batteries, would mitigate criticism from the U.S. and others over China's 'economic imbalances': heavily subsidized companies making stuff for slim profits but saturating global markets, to the detriment of other countries' manufacturers...

The Xi leadership has indicated a desire to cut a deal with the Trump administration to head off greater trade attacks... Similar to Japan, the Chinese advisers say, Beijing may also consider negotiating export restraints on EVs and batteries in return for investment opportunities in those sectors in the U.S. In some officials' views, they say, that might be an attractive offer to Trump, who at times has indicated an openness to more Chinese investment in the U.S. even though members of his administration firmly oppose it.
The article notes agreements like this are also hard to enforce, 'particularly when Chinese companies export to the U.S. from third countries including Mexico and Vietnam.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.