Â
>>REAL-TIME UPDATES IN THE WIRE. CLICK HERE<<<
Â
Â
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled steep tariff hikes on imports of a raft of Chinese products including electric vehicles, computer chips and medical products, citing “unacceptable risks” to US “economic security” posed by what it considers unfair Chinese practices that are flooding global markets with cheap goods.
Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others, the White House said in a statement.
Biden will increase tariffs this year from 25% to 100% on EVs, from 7.5% to 25% on lithium-ion EV batteries and other battery parts and from 25% to 50% on photovoltaic cells used to make solar panels. “Certain” critical minerals will have their tariffs raised from nothing to 25%.
The tariffs on ship-to-shore cranes will rise to 25% from zero, those on syringes and needles will rise to 50% from zero and some personal protective equipment (PPE) used in medical facilities will rise to 25% from as little as 0%.Â
More tariffs will follow in 2025 and 2026 on semiconductors, whose tariff rate will double to 50%, as well as lithium-ion batteries that are not used in elective vehicles, graphite and permanent magnets as well as rubber medical and surgical gloves.
The move is part of the Biden administration’s plan to revise the Trump era tariffs, known as “Section 301 tariffs,” so as to target China’s strategic industries. The Chinese EV industry, which has been rising rapidly to global prominence, has become a top target for the US crackdown, experts said.
China’s Foreign Ministry slammed the US move, saying that i’s a politicization and weaponization of trade issues and a typical case of political manipulation that will seriously impact the atmosphere for bilateral cooperation.
The US decision to increase the tariffs goes against President Biden’s commitment of not seeking to suppress China’s development, and not seeking to decouple with China. It is also not in line with the spirit of consensus reached between the two heads of state, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Commerce said that China firmly opposes and lodges solemn representations over US further increase of additional tariffs on some Chinese goods.
“The action will seriously impact the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation” and China will take resolute measures to defend its rights and interests and urged the Biden administration to “correct its wrongdoing,” the ministry said.