Biden imposes 100% tariffs on Chinese electric cars

Joe Biden has imposed steep tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods, despite Kamala Harris calling similar levies proposed by Donald Trump a “sales tax.”

The US president confirmed on Friday the imposition of 100% tariffs on electric vehicles, 50% on solar cells and 25% on steel and aluminium imports.

Other tariffs will apply to imports of clothing, syringes and face masks, as the administration tries to crack down on cheap imports that threaten the U.S. manufacturing sector.

The move comes despite Harris’ criticism of Trump’s proposed China tariffs, which she said would amount to a tax on consumers and worsen inflation.

During Tuesday’s presidential debate, she described her plan to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese imports as a “Trump sales tax.”

Harris cited a study by the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, which estimates that an import tariff of that magnitude would increase spending on the average family by $3,900 a year.

However, the Biden-Harris administration on Friday backed the China tariffs imposed by Trump during his first term, maintaining duties on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese goods ranging from toys and T-shirts to internet routers and industrial machinery.

“Unfair cost advantage”

The move largely ignored calls from automakers for lower tariffs on graphite and key minerals used in the production of electric vehicle batteries. Some companies have told the government they still rely on Chinese supplies.

Lael Brainard, the government’s trade adviser, told Reuters that the tariffs on electric vehicles reflected “the very significant unfair cost advantage that Chinese electric vehicles in particular are using to dominate auto markets at a breakneck pace in other parts of the world.”

She added: “That’s not going to happen here under the leadership of the vice president and the president.”

Harris has sought to distance herself from some of Trump’s economic plans during the election campaign, even though she herself supports similar policies.

The Democrat has already embraced the Trump campaign’s “no tip tax” policy, which would eliminate the requirement for hospitality workers to pay federal income tax on tips. On Thursday, she called Trump’s version of the policy a “deceptive PR stunt.”

Despite their debate clashes, the two candidates have similar policies on China, which is seen by a significant portion of the voting population as the greatest threat to the United States.

Harris said Tuesday that Trump had “invited trade wars” during his first term and presided over an administration “selling American chips to China to help them upgrade and modernize their military.”

Trump retorted that “other countries are finally going to pay us back for everything we’ve done for the world.” He said China, not the United States, would pay the tariffs he plans to impose.