What Trump’s new tariffs mean for climate tech

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illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Japan Times or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s global tariffs, temporarily easing trade pressure on climate tech supply chains
• Companies like Tesla had faced soaring costs, including ~$200 million in tariff-related expenses in a single quarter for energy storage
• Trump has since proposed new global levies of up to 15%, reviving uncertainty

🔭 The context: The ruling lowers tariffs on some solar and battery imports, though EV and wind-related tariffs remain unchanged
• The U.S. imported about $10 billion in utility-scale lithium-ion batteries in the first seven months of 2025
• New national security tariffs and “foreign entity of concern” rules could still limit reliance on Chinese components

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Clean energy deployment depends heavily on global supply chains
• Lower battery import costs could accelerate grid storage, critical for integrating renewables and preventing blackouts
• However, policy volatility risks slowing investment decisions and delaying decarbonization timelines

⏭️ What’s next: Developers may seek tariff refunds, while markets brace for fresh levies that could reshape competitiveness between U.S., Chinese, and allied manufacturers

💬 One quote: American battery factories will be “a lot more exposed to competition,” at least for now. — Matthew Hales, BloombergNEF

📈 One stat: The U.S. added 13.3 gigawatts of new energy storage capacity in 2025, up nearly 10% from 2024

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