The US government will increase tariffs on goods from China worth a total of $18 billion. The White House announced this on Tuesday. The amount corresponds to just over DKK 124 billion.
Among other things, US imports of electric cars, computer chips, batteries, solar cells, aluminum and steel from China will be affected. Tariffs on Chinese electric cars will quadruple this year, reaching 100 percent, the White House has said.
The measures now underway are "carefully targeted at strategic sectors," President Joe Biden's administration announced, according to the Financial Times.
The White House considers China's exports of cheap goods to be anticompetitive and says it is an "unacceptable risk" to the United States' "economic security."
Overtaking Trump measures
In addition to the new measures, the Biden administration is choosing to maintain the increased tariffs that former President Donald Trump introduced as part of his trade war against China.
Senior White House officials deny to the Financial Times that the tougher policy towards China has anything to do with the fact that the United States is holding presidential elections in six months.
- It has nothing to do with politics, says an official.
But Biden has taken steps in recent months that, in all likelihood, will help him win in states like Michigan, where many of the US's car manufacturers are based.
Trump has previously announced that he will impose a 60 percent tariff on all Chinese goods, points out senior chief consultant Peter Bay Kirkegaard from the Confederation of Danish Industry.
- With a quadrupling of the tariff on several Chinese goods, Biden is overtaking him on the inside, says Peter Bay Kirkegaard in a written comment.
- Therefore, Biden's measures should of course also be seen as part of the American election campaign, but underlying it shows that the US has an extremely inflamed relationship with China.
Worrying for Europe
It risks worsening the trade conflict between the US and China, which will further push global unrest. And it is also quite worrying for Europe and Denmark, says DI's senior chief consultant.
- The greatly increased US tariffs mean that Chinese goods, which can no longer enter the US market, will flow elsewhere. Including to Europe, says Peter Bay Kirkegaard.
- Therefore, we risk that Europe will be flooded with even more cheap Chinese goods. This will put European companies under further pressure.
/ritzau/Reuters
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