China makes cheap electric vehicles. Why can't American shoppers buy them?

BYD electric cars wait to be loaded onto a ship at a port in Yantai, China, on April 18. China has rapidly become a major auto exporter, but tariffs have kept cheap Chinese EVs out of the U.S. market — so far. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

New EVs aren't cheap.

At least, not in the United States. In other parts of the world, bargain electric vehicles from China abound, but a 27.5% tariff has kept those cars out of the United States.