Biden says new China tariffs are needed to protect US industries from companies subsidised by Beijing
- The US president defends his plan to impose stiff new tariffs on Chinese EVs, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminium and medical equipment
- Biden also gives his action a political edge, criticising Donald Trump, his predecessor and challenger for re-election, for failing to lift US exports and boost manufacturing
US President Joe Biden accused Beijing on Tuesday of sticking with unfair trade practices that had prompted his predecessor Donald Trump to launch a trade war against China – and asserted that the former president failed to follow through on promises to fix the problem.
Speaking from the White House after announcing new tariffs he has ordered on Chinese electric vehicles, semiconductors, aluminium, steel and other imported products, Biden vowed that “the future of electric vehicles will be made in America by union workers”.
“For years the Chinese government has poured state money to Chinese companies across a whole range of industries … pushing Chinese companies to produce far more than the rest of the world can absorb, then dumping the excess products onto the market at unfairly low prices, driving other manufacturers around the world out of business,” he said.
Under the plan, following a public comment period to be announced by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s office next week, tariffs would rise to 100 per cent from 27.5 per cent on Chinese EVs and to 50 per cent on semiconductors and solar cells produced in the country. Tariffs on lithium-ion vehicle batteries and battery parts would rise to 25 per cent.
Biden’s move is the latest chapter in a trade war started by Trump in 2018 to address restrictions on access to China’s market, including policies that force foreign companies operating in the country to transfer technology to domestic firms.
Both men, who are running against each other this year in a rematch of the 2020 presidential election, have made talking tough on China a feature of their campaigns.