In an effort to revive domestic production, US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he was imposing drastic tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles, as well as new taxes on computer chips, solar cells and lithium batteries. -ion.
“We will not allow China to flood our markets so that American automakers cannot compete fairly,” Biden said. “I will make efforts in accordance with international trade law.”
Tariffs on electric vehicles from China will increase fourfold. Meanwhile, solar cells and semi-conductors from China will be subject to a 50% tariff, or twice the current tariff. Taxes on imports of certain types of steel and aluminum will increase by 25%, or more than three times the current rate.
The tariff increase will cover Chinese products worth up to US$18 billion. Tariffs on EVs, steel and aluminum and solar cells will take effect this year, while those on chips will come into effect next year.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tsai said the US government had made advance notification to Beijing regarding the tariff increase.
“We have made it clear that this is not an escalation,” he said. “But this is a consequence of decades of economic policy and the US interest in defending our rights.”
The move is designed to neutralize China’s “unfair trade practices and subsidies and create a more level playing field for U.S. automakers and manufacturers,” National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard told reporters Monday ahead of announcement of the decision.
“China is too powerful to play by its own rules,” Brainard said. “China is using the same playbook it has used before to drive its growth at the expense of other countries and continue to invest despite exceeding its capacity, as well as flooding the world’s markets with low-priced exports made possible by unscrupulous trade practices. that’s fair.“
