New Biden tariffs on China's EVs, solar, medical supplies due Tuesday -
sources
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[May 11, 2024] By
Trevor Hunnicutt, Jeff Mason and David Shepardson
WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden is set to
announce new China tariffs as soon as next week targeting strategic
sectors, including a major hike in levies on electric vehicles (EVs),
according to three people familiar with the matter.
The full announcement, expected Tuesday, will maintain existing tariffs
on many Chinese goods set by former President Donald Trump, according to
one of the people.
But it will also add new tariffs to semiconductors and solar equipment,
according to one of the people, as well as hiking EV tariffs.
Chinese-made medical supplies like syringes and personal protective
equipment also face additional tariffs, sources told Reuters.
In revising the so-called "Section 301 tariffs," the Biden
administration has zeroed in on industries that it says are of strategic
competitive and national security areas, one of the people said.
The long-awaited tariff update comes after a number of lawmakers have
called for massive hikes on Chinese vehicle tariffs. There are
relatively few Chinese-made light duty vehicles being imported now.
Tariffs on Chinese EVs will roughly quadruple under the new Biden plan,
the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the
matter. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown wants the Biden
administration to ban Chinese EVs outright, over concerns they pose
risks to Americans' personal data.
The U.S. Trade Representative's office made its recommendations to the
White House weeks ago but a final announcement has been delayed due to
internal discussions, sources said. It may come later than Tuesday, some
sources said.
Biden, a Democrat seeking re-election in November, is looking to
contrast his approach with that of Republican candidate Trump, who has
proposed across-the-board tariffs that White House officials see as too
blunt and prone to spark inflation. Trump has promised 60% or higher
tariffs on all Chinese goods.
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U.S. President Joe Biden looks on as he holds a press conference
about his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the start
of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Woodside,
California, U.S., November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File
Photo
The White House and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative
declined to comment.
The measures could invite retaliation from China at a time of
heightened tensions between the world's two biggest economies.
Trump's broader imposition of tariffs during his 2017-2021
presidency kicked off a tariff war with China.
Both 2024 candidates have sharply departed from the free-trade
consensus that once reigned in Washington, a period capped by
China's joining the World Trade Organization in 2001.
In 2022, Biden launched a review of the Trump-era policy under
Section 301 of the U.S. trade law. Last month, he called for sharply
higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese metal products but the targeted
products were narrow in range, estimated at more than $1 billion of
steel and aluminum products, a U.S. official said.
Biden also announced launching an investigation into Chinese trade
practices across the shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors, a
process that could lead to more tariffs.
The Biden administration has also been pressuring neighboring Mexico
to prohibit China from selling its metal products to the United
States indirectly from there.
China has said the tariff measures are counter-productive and
inflict harm on the U.S. and global economy.
(Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by
Edwina Gibbs, Sonali Paul, Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell)
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