(Yicai) May 15 -- It is difficult to know whether the latest boost in tariffs on China-made batteries in the United States will be implemented after the presidential election this year, according to an industry insider.

The policy, designed by the team of President Joe Biden, is largely created for the election so the execution and other details are uncertain, Feng Disheng, senior energy storage analyst at information provider Shanghai Metals Market, said to Yicai.

The US President yesterday announced elevated tariffs on a slew of China-made products, including electric vehicles, computer chips, and medical products. Some of the changes will take place already this year but lithium batteries for EVs and energy storage systems will have a 25 percent import duty only in 2026, up from the earlier 7.5 percent.

Battery producers will have two years until the hiked tariff which would inevitably affect companies that are currently exporting to the US, Feng said. The American market does not only involve Chinese makers of energy storage systems but also Japanese and South Korean companies, and Chinese firms are starting to outsource their production abroad, the analyst added.

Everbright Securities wrote in a report that the policy move could encourage Americans to build new energy storage systems as soon as possible before the added cost.

North America is the second-largest energy storage market in the world, according to data from the China Energy Storage Alliance. Industry organizations expect the local market to exceed 200 gigawatt-hours by 2030.

Chinese companies have a competitive edge as the nation's shipments of lithium batteries for energy storage systems made up 92 percent of the global total last year.

Editor: Emmi Laine