Trade war delaying Chinese automaker’s US plans

DETROIT – Chinese automaker GAC Motor says the U.S.-China trade war has delayed its plans to enter the American market.

Company President Yu Jun said Monday at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show the dispute is a factor in moving its U.S. product launch from the end of this year to the first half of 2020.

At its fifth Detroit show, GAC unveiled a concept called the Entranze. The “hyper family car” comes from GAC’s Los Angeles design centre, one of three such U.S. facilities.

President Donald Trump imposed tariff increases of up to 25 per cent on $250 billion of Chinese imports over complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. President Xi Jinping responded by imposing penalties on $110 billion of American goods.

A December agreement postponed further increases.