President Joe Biden will double tariffs on some Chinese goods this week, unveiling the measures at a White House event framed as a defense of American workers, people familiar with the matter said.
Biden will raise or add tariffs in key sectors after nearly two years of review. The total tariff on Chinese electric vehicles will rise to 102.5% from 27.5%, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. Others will double or triple in targeted industries, although the scope remains unclear.
Biden and his staff have spent recent weeks finalizing measures, including which items to hit and which to avoid because inputs are needed to fuel U.S. growth, one of the people said. That person said the final decision was unanimous.
It is not clear what items are exempt, but Biden will not announce reductions in tariff rates, two of the people said. The administration has signaled to the U.S. solar industry that it will move to exclude certain items, including machinery used to make solar panel components. Some equipment makers have sought the shift, saying current tariffs undermine Biden's goal Grabbing clean energy supply chains from China.
The 2024 presidential race looms large around the key announcement: Biden is trying to crack down on China and differentiate himself from Donald Trump — whose original tariffs Biden is set to largely renew, but is seeking broad increases that the current administration also sees coming. far.
The Biden administration has “focused on sectors of concern for a long time,” said Greta Pesch, a partner at the law firm Wiley Rein LLP who served until January as the chief trade lawyer for the USTR.
“It's designed to address certain activities and risks and avoid escalation, to preserve the relationship that we have with China” outside of those key commodities, she said.
The White House declined to comment on the tariffs. The Wall Street Journal first reported the four-fold increase in tariffs on cars.
Biden will target key sectors including electric cars, batteries, solar cells, steel and aluminum, people said. He had previously announced an increase in customs duties on steel and aluminum to 25% on some products for which the duty rate is 7.5% or for which there are no customs duties now. The EV rate is intended to protect the United States from a potential flood of Chinese cars that could upend the politically sensitive auto sector.
Trump 200%
The announcement comes as a culmination of a review of the tariffs first imposed by Trump, who mocked the announcement during a campaign rally in New Jersey on Saturday.
He says he will impose a 100% tariff on all Chinese electric cars. Isn't that nice?” Trump said. “Biden should have done that four years ago.”
He warned that Chinese companies would try to manufacture cars in Mexico, then avoid tariffs by shipping them to the United States under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump approved as president. Trump said he would impose 200% tariffs on Chinese-made cars in Mexico.
“I will impose a 200% tax on every car that comes from those factories, and they will not do that,” he said. Trump also pledged to impose a blanket 60% tariff on all Chinese goods — a move Biden has not implemented much of, with allies saying it would lead to higher inflation.
Biden's measures are less about crushing segments of the market than preventing an expected increase in imports: Chinese steel, aluminum and cars make up small portions of US supply at the moment. The administration warned that China seeks to limit the market to key sectors and flood the United States with subsidized goods, to destabilize its competition and promote its recovery.
However, the maneuvers indicate a bipartisan consensus – led by the presumptive presidential candidates – about the threat that Chinese electric vehicles pose to the United States.
That hasn't dampened enthusiasm for the U.S. debut of Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Ltd., Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.'s high-end electric vehicle brand, which rose 35% on Friday after an expanded initial public offering that marks the largest U.S. listing ever for a US-based company. China since 2021. One of its executives downplayed the significance of the planned tariffs.
“We are not thinking about short-term headwinds. We are thinking long-term and trying to make sure that we make a very good business case in the long term,” CFO Jing Yuan He told Bloomberg TV Friday. “It's more about long-term vision than short-term headwinds.”
Bish said the administration's approach is consistent with its goal of targeting China while maintaining the relationship.
“It's about it being strategic, not an all-out escalation, but what makes sense as a response to China and support for affected U.S. sectors,” she said.