Partial Extension of Tariff Exemption Measures
The Joe Biden administration in the United States has decided to raise tariffs on Chinese imports such as electric vehicles and semiconductors, and additionally plans to reimpose tariffs on half of the approximately 400 Chinese import items that were previously exempted from tariffs.
According to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on the 26th (local time), this decision was made while announcing on the 24th the extension status of tariff exemptions under 'Section 301 of the Trade Act' for 352 Chinese products and 77 COVID-19 related products.
The previous Donald Trump administration imposed high tariffs on thousands of Chinese products based on Section 301 of the Trade Act during 2018-2019, while allowing exceptions for some products. Since then, the USTR has regularly reviewed whether to extend tariff exemptions for these items, with the exemption for 429 items scheduled to expire on the 31st.
According to Bloomberg News, the USTR decided to extend tariff exemptions for about half of the 429 items for one year until May 31 next year. These include animal husbandry equipment, electric motors, blood pressure measuring devices, and temperature control devices used in heating and cooling systems. The USTR explained that this tariff exemption extension could provide the necessary time to find alternative supply chains outside China.
On the other hand, tariffs will be reimposed from the 14th of next month on the remaining approximately 200 items, including breast pumps, graphite powder, and anesthesia masks. The USTR stated that these are items that can be sourced outside China or for which there were no requests to extend the tariff exemption.
This decision is a follow-up measure amid the U.S.-China tariff war. Earlier, on the 14th, the U.S. decided to raise tariffs from this year through 2026 on Chinese electric vehicles (from 25% to 100%), steel and aluminum (from 0-7.5% to 25%), semiconductors (from 25% to 50%), lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries (from 7.5% to 25%), and solar cells (from 25% to 50%). On the 16th, the U.S. also decided to reinstate the 14.25% tariff exemption on imported bifacial solar panels targeting China.
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