Biden administration plans to raise tariffs on electric vehicles from China

WASHINGTON – Biden administration plans to increase tariffs electric car and other clean energy commodities from China next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sources said the tariff rate on Chinese electric vehicles will rise about four times, from 25% to about 100%. They also said the rate hike would apply to Chinese batteries and solar panels – two areas where the Biden administration has invested domestically.

Administration officials plan to make the announcement Tuesday, but the timing could change.

The White House declined to comment.

Planned tariff hikes first report Reported by The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Italy this month for a meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers, a source said, as the United States hopes to coordinate similar actions by other countries and present a coordinated front to China.

In this week’s interview marketYellen was asked whether the United States was losing to China in electric vehicles and batteries.

“We don’t think the playing field is level,” Yellen responded. “We believe China is providing substantial investment subsidies in these industries that are critical to its growth prospects.”

For nearly two years, the United States has faced backlash from allies about undercutting its green energy economy because of the incentives included in the plan. Inflation reduction method President Joe Biden signed it into law. Many of these allies have since created their own versions of the IRA to compete – and now they are trying to present a united front against a common rival: China.

Last month, Biden called for Triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum as he spoke to union members in battleground Pennsylvania. In a speech in Pittsburgh, the president said China’s overproduction of goods was exported to the United States, driving down prices and hurting the U.S. economy because higher-quality U.S. products had to compete with substitutes that kept prices artificially low.

“For too long, the Chinese government has injected state funds into Chinese steel companies to force them to produce as much steel as possible with subsidies from the Chinese government,” Biden said at the time. “They are not competing. They are cheating. They are cheating. We have The damage is seen in America.”

Former President Donald Trump said he would consider imposing 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports if elected in November. During his administration, the United States imposed new tariffs on washing machines, solar panels, steel, aluminum and billions of dollars worth of goods imported from China. Biden has retained most of Trump’s tariffs on China.