US trade office and Joe Biden target China’s steel, maritime and logistics sectors in latest trade war battles

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for tripling the existing tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminium, just as the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office announced the launch of yet another Section 301 investigation into China’s maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors.

Biden told the USTR to raise the tariff on steel and aluminium imports from China – already under Trump-era duties – from 7.5 per cent to 22.5 per cent, according to a statement by the White House.

He also sent senior envoys to pressure Mexico to prevent Chinese steel and aluminium from transferring through Mexico to evade tariffs.

Biden’s move was made public just ahead of his visit to the headquarters of the United Steelworkers Union in Pittsburgh as part of his re-election campaign in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

The new investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 was launched after reviewing a “serious and concerning” petition by five national labour unions accusing China of using “unfair, non-market policies and practices” to “dominate the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors”, the USTR office said.