The United States will announce new tariffs on China, Yellen: China may make a "significant" response

Observer.com

2024-05-14 10:30Posted on the official account of Shanghai Observer.com

"China is likely to respond significantly to this."

On the 13th local time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen claimed that the U.S. "hopes not to see a major response from China" when talking about the upcoming new tariffs imposed by the United States on China, "but this can always happen." On the same day, Yellen once again hyped up the so-called "theory of China's overcapacity", saying that the United States has no intention of "decoupling" from China economically, and the reconfigured tariffs on China will be "more strategic".

Earlier it was reported that the Biden administration will announce new tariffs on China this week on key strategic industries such as electric vehicles, of which the tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles will be raised from 27.5% to 102.5%, and other industries will be doubled or tripled.

According to Bloomberg's analysis, the U.S. tariffs are mainly "symbolic", because the Chinese industries included in the tariff hike, especially the electric vehicle industry, do not depend on the U.S. market. In addition, the Biden administration has signaled to the U.S. photovoltaic industry that products such as production equipment for solar panel modules will be excluded from this tax increase.

Yellen Infographic (Visual China)

According to the South China Morning Post and Reuters, Yellen told Bloomberg TV on the 13th that U.S. officials have made it clear to China that they can reconfigure the tariff measures first imposed by former President Trump in 2018 to make them more strategic.

Yellen threatened to hope that China would recognize that "U.S. actions are targeted," while she refused to speculate on China's likely response, "We will try to keep our actions targeted and see what happens." Yellen said.

In March 2018, then-US President Donald Trump announced that he would impose large-scale tariffs on goods imported from China, provoking economic and trade frictions between China and the United States. Since 2021, the Biden administration has not only continued the imposition of tariffs, but also advocated "decoupling and breaking the chain" and "de-risking" with China, creating "small courtyards and high walls", and seriously undermining the global economic and trade system. For some time, American politicians represented by Yellen have been moving forward with the argument of "China's overcapacity" in an attempt to curb the rise of China's new energy industry.

Now that the United States is about to make another move on tariffs, does it mean that the United States intends to fight a new trade war with China? Yellen told reporters on the same day that the U.S. government is "trying to stabilize" the U.S.-China economic relationship. "We don't want to be economically separated from China, but we do think the playing field should be more level." Yellen also slandered that China is engaging in unfair practices such as massive subsidies.

She claimed that China is pursuing a clear industrial policy for investment in advanced manufacturing, "which will lead to global overcapacity that will wipe out the competitiveness of American companies."

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that many analysts and industry unions in the United States warned that the "power game" provoked by Washington to impose tariffs on China will not only hurt the US economy, but also may provoke a counterattack from China.

"If the barriers to China are raised, will the Chinese do the same to us?" Dan Ives, a senior analyst at Wedbush Securities in the United States and a long-term bull in Tesla, said a few days ago that "'retaliation' is possible." This Game of Thrones will continue. ”

Regarding the Biden administration's claim that maintaining tariffs on China is of so-called "strategic importance" to reviving U.S. manufacturing, Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, the largest manufacturing industry and trade association in the United States, expressed clear opposition at an event in Washington in February. He believes that the tariff policy is actually counterproductive, and it is harming the US manufacturing industry, and the US government should not impose more import tariffs on Chinese products in the future.

On May 10, when Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian held a regular press conference, a reporter asked about the Biden administration's announcement of new tariffs on China.

"Please ask the competent authorities for details." Lin Jian pointed out that the previous US administration's imposition of Section 301 tariffs on China seriously interfered with the normal economic and trade exchanges between China and the United States, and has been ruled by the WTO to have violated WTO rules. Instead of correcting its erroneous practices, the US side continues to politicize economic and trade issues and abuse the so-called Section 301 tariff review procedure to further increase tariffs.

Lin Jian said: We urge the US side to earnestly abide by WTO rules, cancel all tariffs imposed on China, and refrain from increasing tariffs. China will take all necessary measures to defend its rights and interests.

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