China has notified the United States that it intends to launch an investigation that would potentially impose new import duties on vehicles manufactured by GM, Ford and Chrysler if imported into China.

According to Steve Collins, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, the three Detroit automakers currently export approximately 9 000 vehicles each year to China.

China first declared that it would launch an investigation into the addition of new import duties on American automotive imports after President Barack Obama announced that he would be imposing a 35 percent tariff on Chinese-made tyres.

Collins told Reuters, “The documents containing the charges were presented by China to the US government this week, but have not yet been translated. Therefore we are not in a position to comment on the matter at this time.”

Currently there are high-level talks taking place in Hangzhou, and President Obama is expected to visit China in November.

Collins expects China to formally launch an anti-dumping and countervailing-duty investigation next week.

Via LeftLaneNews

President Obama has been a busy man. After appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno earlier this week, he’s recently visited an electric-vehicle testing facility in southern California to re-highlight his environmental jobs initiative- part of which included a $2.4 billion grant program to make electric transportation more widely available.

The celebrated leader hopes to double the amount of renewable energy flowing through American power lines in the next few years, and plans to spend $11 billion in upgrading the power grid to ensure easy delivery of the energy. Another $15 million will go towards green technologies like wind and solar power.

According to Obama, it’s all part of leading the way in terms of clean energy, and keeping related jobs on American soil rather than overseas. He noted that the US falls behind other countries in wind and solar power, and that Japan makes the batteries currently used in American hybrid cars.

His plan would call upon manufacturers to compete for government money that would help fund the manufacturing of efficient batteries and other parts used in electric cars. Tens of thousands of jobs could be created, and a million ‘environmentally-friendly’ vehicles are hoped to be on American roads by 2015.

Obama’s plan would also give hybrid buyers a tax credit of some $7,500.

Source: Auto123