{"id":9660,"date":"2024-05-15T23:39:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T23:39:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=9660"},"modified":"2024-05-15T23:39:32","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T23:39:32","slug":"beijing-vows-retaliation-against-bidens-hikes-of-tariffs-on-chinese-imports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=9660","title":{"rendered":"Beijing vows retaliation against Biden’s hikes of tariffs on Chinese imports"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chinese officials angrily promised retaliation after the announcement by the White House on Tuesday that the Biden administration would be increasing tariffs on certain imports from China, including a quadrupling of the surcharge on electric cars to 100%.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will seriously affect the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation,\u201d the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Tuesday. \u201cThe United States should immediately correct its wrongdoing and cancel the additional tariffs imposed on China. China will take resolute measures to defend its rights and interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, \u201cSome people in the U.S. have lost their sanity in order to safeguard their unilateral hegemony,\u201d according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
He added, \u201c[A]t this crucial moment of the economic recovery, the global community should tell the U.S. to stop creating new troubles.\u201d<\/p>\n
China accused of \u2018cheating\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
The White House announcement Tuesday came at the conclusion of a statutory review of tariffs, which occurs every four years.<\/p>\n
In remarks at the White House, President Joe Biden said the review had found that the existing regime of tariffs had been helpful but insufficient when it came to forcing China to scale back what he described as unfair trade practices, such as government subsidies and other preferential treatment of domestic manufacturing.<\/p>\n
Biden accused the Chinese government of \u201ccheating\u201d when it competes with other nations in international trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, the Chinese government has poured state money into Chinese companies across a whole range of industries: steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, solar panels – the industries of the future – and even critical health equipment, like gloves and masks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina heavily subsidized all these products, pushing Chinese companies to produce far more than the rest of the world can absorb,\u201d Biden said. \u201cAnd then dumping the excess products onto the market at unfairly low prices, driving other manufacturers around the world out of business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Targeted tariffs<\/strong><\/p>\n
Biden announced that existing tariffs, many put in place during the administration of former President Donald Trump, would remain in place, and that additional tariffs would target specific products and industries.<\/p>\n
In addition to the 100% tariff on electric vehicles, the administration is planning new levies on electric vehicle batteries, certain kinds of semiconductors, solar cells, and equipment used in the health care industry, including face masks, medical gloves, syringes and needles.<\/p>\n
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\n<\/div>\nWorkers install solar panels at a power station in Hami, China, Aug. 22, 2011. The Biden administration plans new import levies on solar cells, among other Chinese products.<\/span> \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
The announcement also included notice that a process will be put in place through which U.S. importers can request that tariffs be waived for specific machinery used in domestic manufacturing operations.<\/p>\n
Chinese response unclear<\/strong><\/p>\n
Experts said there are a number of ways in which China might elect to respond to the newly announced tariffs, with some of the most likely being imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on American goods entering China; cutting its own purchases of politically sensitive U.S. agricultural products, such as soybeans; or restricting the sale of mineral products vital to the manufacture of EV batteries.<\/p>\n
In a discussion hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics on Wednesday, Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said retaliation by China was inevitable, though it might be measured.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Chinese government needs to do something to show its opposition to the U.S. action,\u201d he said. However, he pointed out that the actual impact of the new sanctions on the Chinese economy would be relatively small.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe the reaction will not be so dramatic,\u201d Tu said.<\/p>\n
Commensurate response likely<\/strong><\/p>\n
When it comes to retaliation for U.S. sanctions on China, \u201cusually, they work very hard to try to find things that won’t hurt them and will hurt us,\u201d said William Reinsch, who holds the Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey also usually do something that’s commensurate, on the same scale as whatever it is that we’ve done,\u201d Reinsch told VOA. \u201cApparently, what we’ve done affects $18 billion worth of [imports], which is not a big number. So, don\u2019t expect a big number back from them, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the near term, Reinsch agreed that the new tariffs\u2019 impact on China were not likely to be economically significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it’s more of a political problem,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s annoying. It’s an embarrassment. The immediate economic impact won’t be great. Longer term, however, if their ambition was to sell boatloads of EVs here, like we anticipate them doing in Europe, this will probably put a stop to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mixed US reaction<\/strong><\/p>\n
In Washington, reaction to the tariff announcement was mixed. Some China trade hawks, such as Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, called on the Biden administration to go even further, by expanding the tariffs on vehicles to include cars with standard combustion engines as well.<\/p>\n
In a letter to Biden, Rubio wrote, \u201cIt is imperative that any updated tariff regime adequately address the extinction-level threat that Chinese vehicles – both internal combustion engine and electric – pose to American automakers and the workers they employ.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, organizations seeking to expand trade between the U.S. and China were less than pleased by the announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile today\u2019s announcement was not unexpected, we are disappointed with the outcome because maintenance of the prior tariffs – with no reductions – and imposition of additional tariffs ultimately make it harder for American companies to compete in the U.S. and abroad, cost American jobs, and increase prices for U.S. manufacturers and consumers during a time of ongoing inflation,\u201d U.S.-China Business Council President Craig Allen said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/01000000-0aff-0242-a1a0-08dc753355e6_w250_r0_s.jpg\"\/)
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