Trade turmoil roils electric golf-cart industry

Winning a dumping case is one thing. Enforcement is quite another.

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This is definitely not Bill Sternberg’s Evolution Maverick golf cart. Photo: Evolution Electric Vehicles.

(Bill Sternberg is a veteran Washington journalist and former editorial page editor of USA Today.)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (Callaway Climate Insights) — Backing my golf cart out of the garage recently, I heard a sickening CRUNCH sound. I had stupidly run into my car, which was parked in the driveway.

The car was unscathed aside from a few scratches, but the Evolution Maverick’s plastic fender flare shattered into many pieces. When I stopped cursing, my first thought was: Will I be able to get the replacement part?

A year or two ago, that would not have been an issue. But U.S. trade sanctions imposed on Evolutions and other vehicles of Chinese origin have significantly disrupted global supply chains, making it harder and more costly to buy certain carts and parts.