Biden To Maintain Trump-Era Policy, Increase Tariffs On Numerous Chinese Imports

President Joe Biden is set to increase tariffs on multiple Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, battery components, semiconductors, microchips, and steel and aluminum.

The tariff rates will hit electric vehicles, solar components, and semiconductors from China the hardest with an increase from 25% to 50%, while tariffs on other sectors will increase to 25%, USA Today reported. The new tariffs on China, which will be announced by Biden at the White House on Tuesday, will be implemented over the next two years and are estimated to affect around $18 billion in Chinese imports. During his speech, Biden will also officially endorse keeping tariffs implemented by former President Donald Trump on more than $300 billion of Chinese goods, The New York Times reported.

Biden’s increase in tariffs on China comes after the president spent months campaigning against former President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the communist country. The then-Democratic presidential candidate blasted Trump multiple times in 2019 for his tariffs on Chinese imports, calling Trump’s policies “senseless” and arguing that, in the end, Americans would end up “foot[ing] the bill.”