Biden Slaps Higher Tariffs On Chinese Imports

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a bundle of steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports, including electric vehicle (EV) batteries, computer chips, and medical products, risking an election-year standoff with Beijing in a bid to woo voters who give his economic policies low marks, Trevor Hunnicutt reported for Reuters.

Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others, including a quadrupling of EV duties to over 100% and doubling the duties on semiconductor tariffs to 50%.

China immediately vowed retaliation. Its commerce ministry said Beijing was opposed to the U.S. tariff hikes and would take measures to defend its interests, urging the U.S. to cancel the measures.

Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others, including a quadrupling of EV duties to over 100% and doubling the duties on semiconductor tariffs to 50%, the White House said in a statement.

It cited "unacceptable risks" to U.S. economic security posed by what it considers unfair Chinese practices that are flooding global markets with cheap goods.

The new measures affect $18 billion in imported Chinese goods, including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, critical minerals, solar cells, and cranes, the White House said.

The U.S. imported $427 billion in goods from China in 2023 and exported $148 billion to the world's No. 2 economy, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a trade gap that has persisted for decades and become an ever more sensitive subject in Washington.