US hikes tariffs on Chinese goods

Washington has finalized tariff hikes on billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese imports, US trade representative Katherine Tai announced on Friday. The new levies will notably affect goods such as electric vehicles and semiconductors.

The tariff hikes were first announced by the White House in May of this year, but the administration of President Joe Biden said that it has since been working on finalizing the rates and setting the dates for the measures to take effect based on feedback from the American public.

According to the final document, which is dated September 12, the duties will rise to 100% on electric vehicles, 50% on solar cells, and 25% on electric vehicle batteries, steel, aluminum, face masks and some other products beginning September 27. A 50% tariff hike on semiconductors is set to take effect starting next year. The levies on a number of other products, such as non-electrical vehicle batteries, medical gloves, and permanent magnets, will be raised gradually over the next two years.

“Today’s finalized tariff increases will target the harmful policies and practices of the People’s Republic of China that continue to impact American workers and businesses,” Tai said in the press release. She reiterated that the measures are aimed at defending “American workers and businesses in the face of unfair trade practices.”

US officials have repeatedly labeled China as America’s top “competitor,” and have been tightening economic restrictions against the country since 2018, courtesy of then-President Donald Trump. Biden has continued in this vein, despite Beijing’s repeated warnings that China will respond in kind.

Former Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin previously said that the US actions “violate global trade rules.” Foreign Minister Wang Yi slammed them as “the most typical form of bullying,” and accused officials in Washington of “losing their minds in order to maintain their unipolar hegemony.”

China was not alone in its criticism of the tariff hikes. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in May that the measures were aimed at suppressing competition, especially in the EV market, where the Chinese “have gotten better.” Tesla owner Elon Musk denounced the tariffs on Chinese EVs as “not good,” saying that they “inhibit freedom of exchange” and “distort the market.”

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