US President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a package of steep tariff increases on a range of Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, computer chips and medical products, risking a showdown with Beijing in an election year in a bid to appeal to voters who give low marks to his economic policies.
Biden will maintain tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump and increase others, including quadrupling tariffs on electric vehicles to more than 100%, the White House said in a statement. He cited “unacceptable risks” to U.S. economic security posed by what he sees as unfair Chinese practices that are flooding global markets with cheap goods.
The new measures affect $18 billion in Chinese imported goods, including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells and cranes, the White House said. The announcement confirmed earlier Reuters reports.
The United States imported $427 billion in goods from China in 2023 and exported $148 billion to the world’s second-largest economy, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a trade gap that has persisted for decades and has become an increasingly sensitive topic in Washington.
“China is using the same playbook it used before to boost its own growth at the expense of others by continuing to invest, despite Chinese overcapacity and flooding global markets with exports that are undervalued due to unfair practices,” the adviser said. White House National Economy, Lael Brainard. she told reporters in a conference call.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the revised tariffs were justified because China continued to steal American intellectual property and in some cases had become “more aggressive” in cyber intrusions targeting American technology.
He said previous “Section 301” tariffs had minimal impact on prices and employment across the U.S. economy, but had been effective in reducing U.S. imports of Chinese goods, while increasing imports from other countries.
But Tai recommended tariff exclusions for dozens of import categories of industrial machinery from China, including 19 for solar product manufacturing equipment.
Although Biden’s actions coincided with Trump’s premise that stricter trade measures are justified, the Democrat took aim at his opponent in the November election.
The White House said Trump’s 2020 trade deal with China did not increase American exports or boost American manufacturing jobs, and said the 10% across-the-board tariffs on goods from all points of origin that Trump has proposed would frustrate allies of the United States and would increase prices. Trump has set tariffs of 60% or more on all Chinese goods.
Administration officials said their measures are “carefully targeted,” combined with domestic investment, conspired with close allies and unlikely to worsen a bout of inflation that has already angered American voters and endangered the economy. Biden’s reelection bid. They also downplayed the risk of retaliation from Beijing.
Biden has struggled to convince voters of the effectiveness of his economic policies despite a backdrop of low unemployment and above-trend economic growth. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month showed Trump with a 7 percentage point lead over Biden on the economy.
Analysts have warned that a trade dispute could raise the costs of electric vehicles overall, hurting Biden’s climate goals and his goal of creating manufacturing jobs.
Mexico, in the middle of the trade dispute
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. government suggested that additional tariffs could be imposed if Chinese electric vehicle makers try to shift production to Mexico to avoid recently announced import taxes.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday directed the U.S. trade representative’s office to impose a full tariff of more than 102% on Chinese electric vehicles, as well as new tariffs on other products, including steel, aluminum, microprocessors and solar cells.
Prior to this, Chinese electric vehicle company BYD indicated it was looking for manufacturing sites in Mexico for the Mexican market, creating a gap to avoid new tariffs.
When asked at a White House press conference about new tariffs if Chinese companies produce in Mexico, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, “Stay tuned.”
Tai said the imposition of additional tariffs would require “a separate track” from the review of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. That four-year review generated tariffs on the equivalent of $18 billion in Chinese imports, which They were announced on Tuesday.
The official added that the tariffs with Mexico were “something we talked about to our industry, our workers and our partners.”
[Con información de AP y Reuters]
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