By: Ella Marufo
Editor-in-Chief
On May 14, President Biden announced via X that he has raised tariffs on various goods made in China — including electric vehicles, solar panels, semiconductors, and steel and aluminum — in an effort to pull ahead of China as the current leader of these industries. Biden also officially endorsed tariffs on 300 billion dollars of Chinese goods, which former President Donald Trump initially implemented. Though both Biden and Trump support these tariffs, Biden’s plan focuses specifically on clean energy, while Trump favors a more large-scale approach of tariffs on China. While speaking with reporters about Biden’s tariffs, Trump commented, “They’ve also got to do it on other vehicles and they have to do it on a lot of other products.”
These actions reflect Biden’s move to appeal to swing voters in the industrial Midwest. The most significant tariff the president imposed was on EVs, which quadrupled from 25 percent to 100 percent to shield the American automobile industry as it makes its transition to electric vehicles. Bipartisan leaders are concerned that if Chinese cars, retailing for just 10,000 dollars, make it to the American market, jobs will be lost and interest in American-made vehicles will decline. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who spoke with NPR, said, “Until China changes its practices, these tariffs are also meant to give our industries a break, a respite, to be able to breathe.”
However, several companies and economists have called on Biden to reverse the tariffs. David French, the executive vice president of the National Retail Federation, stated in a press release, “As consumers continue to battle inflation, the last thing the administration should be doing is placing additional taxes on imported products that will be paid by US importers and eventually US consumers.” Several economists have echoed this sentiment, expressing concerns that more restrictive trade could halt economic growth. “We’re going to hurt our productivity by massively overspending on these things,” said R. Glenn Hubbard, economist and former Dean of Columbia University’s business school. A few politicians have also denounced Biden’s decision, including the governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, who said the move was “horrible news for American consumers and a major setback for clean energy.”
This series of tariffs marks the end of an era in which Americans can expect cheap Chinese goods in certain retail areas. However, Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist David Autor warned, “[They] can’t have it both ways … If you want to get to the point where the US maintains and regains leadership in these technological areas, you’re going to have to pay more.”
(Sources: Politico, NPR, NY Times)