America’s Clean Tech Withers Even as Imports Are Blocked
It may be challenging to assail China’s lead in some technologies, but the field is wide open for those yet to get established.
The US is neglecting what could make it a future clean-tech superpower.
Photographer: Rachel Wisniewski/BloombergWhen you introduce a raft of tariffs and restrictions to protect domestic industries, you’d better make sure there are some around to protect. That’s a major problem with the US decision to treat China’s clean technology leadership as grounds for a trade fight.
If local factories are getting off the ground but struggling with international competition, then the damage done by border duties might be justified as the cost of supporting homegrown startups. When investors are already giving up on domestic production, however, then tariffs serve no other purpose but to raise costs for consumers. Such imposts aren’t just a barrier on the road to net zero: they’re also a willful act of economic self-harm.