Battery energy storage system foreign trade

If you're in the business of battery energy storage systems (BESS), you've probably felt the squeeze of tariffs on Chinese imports. For years, China has been a go-to for affordable, high-capacity energy storage solutions, but ongoing trade policies and tariffs have made importing these systems into the U.S. more complicated — and expensive.

Mitigating tariff risk in battery energy storage system (BESS) projects is crucial for ensuring project financial viability, as tariff changes can significantly affect cost structures and overall project economics.

Two major areas of international trade that will remain causes of concern for energy storage projects are the application of tariffs and supply chain integrity.

An interesting issue will be the imposition of tariffs. There are existing tariffs pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on some Chinese-origin lithium-ion EV batteries and non-lithium-ion battery parts, which were increased to 25% in September 2024.

There have also been indications that the US administration may consider other tariff proposals impacting energy storage, such as a 10–20% universal tariff, tariffs of up to 60% across the board on Chinese-origin goods, and tariffs of 25% on Mexican and Canadian origin goods.

Storage batteries have been indicated as a priority for border detentions for forced labor evaluation, and we expect to continue to see those goods identified as a concern.