Biden sharply hikes US tariffs on Chinese imports, including chips, cars

STORY: President Joe Biden on Tuesday (May 14) unveiled steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicle (EV) batteries, computer chips, and medical products, risking an election-year standoff with Beijing in a bid to woo voters who give his economic policies low marks.China immediately vowed retaliation. Its commerce ministry said Beijing was opposed to the U.S. tariff hikes and would take measures to defend its interests.Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others, including a quadrupling of EV duties to over 100% and doubling the duties on semiconductor tariffs to 50%, the White House said in a statement.The new measures affect $18 billion in imported Chinese goods including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, critical minerals, solar cells and cranes, they said. The announcement confirmed earlier Reuters reporting.The United States imported $427 billion in goods from China in 2023 and exported $148 billion to the world's No. 2 economy, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a trade gap that has persisted for decades and become an ever more sensitive subject in Washington.Even as Biden's steps fell in line with Trump's premise that tougher trade measures are warranted, the Democrat took aim at his opponent in November's election.The White House said Trump's 2020 trade deal with China did not increase American exports or jobs, and it said the 10% across-the-board tariffs on goods from all points of origin that Trump has proposed would frustrate U.S. allies and raise prices. Trump has floated tariffs of 60% or higher on all Chinese goods.(Production: Deborah Gembara)