Joe Biden sharply hikes U.S. tariffs on Chinese chips, cars to woo voters in election year

President Biden unveils steep tariff increases on Chinese imports, including EVs and medical products, risking election-year standoff with Beijing.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a bundle of steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicles, 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.

Mr. Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others, the White House said in a statement citing "unacceptable risks" to U.S. "economic security" posed by what it considers unfair Chinese practices that are flooding global markets with cheap goods.

The new measures impact $18 billion in Chinese imported goods including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells and cranes, the White House 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.

"China's using the same playbook it has before to power its own growth at the expense of others by continuing to invest, despite excess Chinese capacity and flooding global markets with exports that are underpriced due to unfair practices," White House National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard told reporters on a conference call.

Even as Mr. Biden's steps fell in line with Mr. Trump's premise that tougher trade measures are warranted, the Democrat took aim at his opponent in November's election.

The White House said Mr. Trump's 2020 trade deal with China did not increase American exports or boost American manufacturing jobs, and it said the 10% across-the-board tariffs on goods from all points of origin that Mr. Trump has proposed would frustrate U.S. allies and raise prices. Mr. Trump has floated tariffs of 60% or higher on all Chinese goods.