President Joe Biden has raised tariffs on crucial Chinese imports, such as electric vehicles, microchips, and steel.
The White House released a statement saying, “China’s unfair trade practices in technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation pose a threat to American businesses and workers,” and accused China of “flooding global markets with artificially low-priced exports.”
In response, President Biden instructed the U.S. trade representative to increase tariffs on $18 billion worth of imports from China. The tariff on electric vehicles will rise to 100% in 2024 from the current 25%.
Tariffs on lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries will increase from 7.5% to 25% in 2024, and for lithium-ion non-electric vehicle batteries, the rate will rise from 7.5% to 25% in 2026. Tariffs on battery parts will also see an increase from 7.5% to 25% in 2024.
The tariff on semiconductors will increase from 25% to 50% by 2025.
Tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products will be raised to 25% in 2024, up from 0-7.5%. Tariffs on solar cells, whether assembled into modules or not, will increase from 25% to 50% in 2024.
Additionally, tariffs are being raised on some medical products, including syringes, needles, personal protective equipment such as respirators and face masks, and rubber medical and surgical gloves.
Beijing has stated that new tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese goods will ‘severely affect’ the relationship
Beijing has cautioned that new U.S. tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports could significantly harm the bilateral relations between the two nations.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated, “This will greatly impact the environment conducive to cooperation between both countries.”
The ministry urged the U.S. to “promptly correct its erroneous actions and rescind the new tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.”
The tariffs were announced by the White House, which charged China with saturating international markets with exports priced below market value.
