US finalises China tariff increases Biden announced in May
PRESIDENT Joe Biden’s administration formally approved tariff increases on billions of dollars in Chinese goods on Friday (Sep 13), paving the way for most of them to go into effect in two weeks.
The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) made a final determination on the proposed increases that Biden announced in May that include a 100 per cent duty on electric vehicles, 50 per cent on semiconductors and solar cells, and 25 per cent on battery parts and many critical minerals.
Most of the increases take effect on Sep 27, with those on computer chips next year, and natural graphite, a critical mineral for EV batteries, in 2026. The changes affect about US$18 billion in annual US imports.
The finalised tariffs are mostly unchanged from the proposal that Biden made at a public announcement at the White House in mid-May. The USTR move – mostly considered a formality – had been repeatedly put off, delaying the date the tariffs go into effect. The determination marks the culmination of a review of so-called Section 301 tariffs imposed by former president Donald Trump in 2018.
Tariffs are a key issue on the 2024 campaign trail ahead of the US election in November, as polls consistently show more voters trust former president Donald Trump to manage the economy.
Trump has touted tariffs as a way to protect and spur US manufacturing. He has floated a sweeping 60 per cent tariff on Chinese goods if re-elected in November and a 100 per cent tariff for countries that shift away from the US dollar.
Vice-President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic candidate for the Nov 5 election after Biden withdrew in July, in a debate on Tuesday called the Republican nominee’s proposal for higher duties a “Trump sales tax” that would raise prices for middle-class families by thousands of dollars a year.
Trump countered by pointing out that the Biden administration left in place the duties that he imposed on China.
USTR delayed its decision in late July, saying that it needed more time to review more than 1,100 public comments about Biden’s initial tariff announcement. The office said then that the tariff hikes would take effect about two weeks after it published the final determination.
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