Tesla’s Musk calls out China’s uneven trade rules and asks Trump for help
Washington/Shanghai — Tesla CO Elon Musk took to Twitter on Thursday to call on US President Donald Trump to challenge China’s automotive trade rules, which limit foreign ownership of Chinese ventures and impose steep tariffs on imported cars. In a series of tweets aimed at the President, Musk said he was "against import duties in general, but the current rules make things very difficult. It’s like competing in an Olympic race wearing lead shoes". Tesla has been pushing hard to build cars in China, the world’s largest automotive market, but has hit roadblocks in negotiations with local authorities, in part because Musk is keen to keep full control of any local venture. "No US auto company is allowed to own even 50% of their own factory in China, but there are five 100% China-owned EV auto companies in the US," Musk wrote in another tweet. Tesla "raised this with the prior administration and nothing happened. Just want a fair outcome, ideally where tariffs/rules are equally moderate....
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