The White House announced that it would impose tariffs on Chinese goods such as electric vehicles, and China has responded today

Globe.com

2024-05-14 18:22Posted on the official account of Shaanxi Global Network

According to Reuters, the White House announced on the 14th that it would impose tariffs on a series of Chinese goods, including electric vehicles, computer chips, and medical supplies. According to the report, US President Joe Biden's move is to risk the deterioration of relations with China in the election year and win the support of voters who give him low marks on economic policies. At a press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry earlier on the 14th, spokesman Wang Wenbin said in response to an inquiry that "Biden will announce additional tariffs on Chinese goods such as electric vehicles", saying that China will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

Biden data map from the US media

Reuters said that according to the latest statement from the White House on the 14th, the Biden administration will continue to retain the tariff policy implemented by its predecessor Trump administration and increase tariffs on other goods. The White House's statement once again repeated the same old tune, using the so-called "unfair practices" to exaggerate the "unacceptable risk" posed by Chinese goods to the economic security of the United States.

The report also mentioned that the White House announced that the new measures will affect $18 billion worth of goods imported from China, including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells and cranes. According to the White House's official website, tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles will be increased to 100% from the current 25%.

At a press conference held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 14, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China has always opposed the unilateral imposition of tariffs in violation of WTO rules, and China will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

"No amount of high tariffs will protect the U.S. auto industry." The Global Times published an editorial on May 12 with this title, saying that the United States prides itself on being a country founded on free trade. Increasing tariffs on goods from other countries by 100 per cent, for whatever reason, is a clear violation of WTO rules and the spirit of free trade. If it appeals to the WTO for arbitration, the United States will lose 100 percent of the lawsuit and will be condemned by the international community.

According to the editorial, the US has launched a public opinion offensive against China's new energy industry on the grounds of so-called "overcapacity" for several months, and the news of tax hikes has spread wave after wave. A number of US media broke the news that there are "serious differences" in the United States and even within the government on whether to adjust tariffs, and even met with opposition from public opinion around the world. Some analysts believe that in addition to political considerations for domestic elections, if the United States really offers high tariffs, it also has the intention of "instructing" the EU at this point in time to exert pressure on the EU. A former US government official also said that developing countries such as Brazil and India would also be drawn in with the United States. If the United States does this, it will damage the interests of the whole world, not only infringing on the free trade rights of other countries, but also depriving the people of the "Global South" of their right to green development, given the contribution of China's new energy industry to the global green transition, especially the countries of the "Global South".

The editorial also said that from another perspective, can high tariffs and trade barriers really protect the U.S. auto industry? The U.S. steel industry is a case in point. As early as 2017, when the United States implemented the "double reversal" of stainless steel products in China, this newspaper published an article pointing out that China's steel exports to the United States are insignificant, and the crux of the American steel industry is not the so-called "unfair competition", nor the lack of adequate protection, but its monopoly position for many years, and does not pay attention to relying on technological progress to improve production efficiency. What the U.S. steel industry really needs is to promote reform through opening-up, and trade protection will only increase corporate inertia. Sure enough, at the end of last year, U.S. Steel, a giant that had supplied steel to the Empire State Building in New York, agreed to accept a takeover from a Japanese company. Now, did protectionism protect the U.S. steel industry, or did it turn into a political bubble? If Washington still wants to replicate the path of "protection", then the steel industry today may be the American auto industry tomorrow.

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