[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina]U.S. President Joe Biden is considering partially lifting high tariffs imposed on Chinese products to ease soaring inflation, and is expected to announce the plan as early as this month, Axios reported on the 13th (local time).
According to the report, President Biden met with key cabinet members on the 7th and hinted at plans for the official procedure to decide whether to exclude Chinese consumer goods such as bicycles from tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act. Axios stated, "President Biden is leaning toward ordering the official procedure to proceed," adding, "However, steel and aluminum are less likely to be included in the tariff reduction."
President Biden's decision is expected to come as early as this month.
With the November midterm elections approaching and the so-called 'Bidenflation' blame mounting alongside a sharp drop in approval ratings, the Biden administration has recently been actively discussing easing high tariffs on China as one of the measures to alleviate inflation. The rationale is that lowering tariffs would reduce the prices of Chinese imports, thereby helping to ease inflationary pressures. However, there are also strong voices within the administration arguing that tariff reductions on China would have little impact on current inflation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing and confirmed, "We are considering restructuring high tariffs on Chinese imports to respond more strategically." She said that tariff reductions would have some effect in calming the highest U.S. inflation in about 40 years but added, "I do not think tariff reductions are a panacea." She pointed out that Chinese imports subject to tariffs account for only one-third of U.S. consumption, so the impact on consumers is unclear.
Earlier, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo appeared on CNN earlier this month and said regarding the need to reduce tariffs on China, "Measures on other items such as household goods or bicycles can be understood."
On the other hand, USTR Representative Katherine Tai took a cautious stance, stating, "It is necessary to acknowledge that inflation is more complex than just tariffs when considering measures to ease inflation." Daleep Singh, Deputy National Security Advisor at the White House National Security Council (NSC), said that tariffs on China do not help strategic goals. The high tariffs on $350 billion worth of Chinese imports will expire on the 6th of next month unless extended by the U.S.
Previously, former President Donald Trump imposed high tariffs on more than 2,200 Chinese products under Section 301 of the Trade Act, citing unfair trade practices by China, and later reduced the number to 549 items in early 2020. Since then, the Biden administration has temporarily exempted tariffs on 352 of the 549 Chinese items subject to tariffs as of March.
Regarding this, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, while on a plane to Philadelphia accompanying President Biden's schedule, told reporters, "This issue is being discussed internally, and there is nothing to share at this time," but confirmed the ongoing discussions by saying, "Since the early days of the administration, we have stated that some of the Trump administration's tariffs are irresponsible and do not contribute to the economy or national security."
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