But they weren’t going to have to anytime soon. The US would have had very little issue convincing their allies and trade partners to block or tariff Chinese EVs to the point of preventing them from undercutting the market.
Before I get brigaded, I am firmly opposed to the Trump/Musk planned theological oligarchy.
Americans having access to more affordable high quality goods is a win for Americans.
I’m not sure why people don’t realize this.
They are instead the sort of trading partner that reminds people of the British Empire: they will produce all manufactured goods and you will handle all the more easily replaced aspects of the business from raw materials to soft services.
That's kind of a straw man argument. Go pick up every single cord, speaker, lamp, etc. in your house and look at the label.
That low quality shit that lasts a year is what I am talking about. Furniture used to be handed down for generations. Now, if you move apartments twice it falls apart.
Back when I was in full time education, my summer holiday job was making HVAC on a production line. The transformers I screwed into backing plates came from China.
The furniature you complain of? The furniature I have comes mostly from Ikea, which is famously not Chinese.
The highest quality products in the world come from China.