US industry seeks easing of steep Biden-Harris China tariff hikes

WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters): The Biden-Harris administration this week is expected to announce final implementation plans for steep tariff increases on certain Chinese imports, and if US industry gets its way, many of the planned duties would be softened.

Manufacturers from electric vehicles to electric utility equipment have asked for the higher tariff rates to be reduced, delayed or abandoned, and for potential exclusions to be greatly expanded.

President Joe Biden in May announced a quadrupling of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 100 per cent, a doubling of duties on semiconductors and solar cells to 50 per cent, as well as new 25 per cent tariffs on lithium-ion batteries and other strategic goods including steel to shield US firms from Chinese excess production.

The White House had said initially the new tariffs would take effect on Aug. 1 but that was delayed until sometime in September as the US Trade Representative's office studied more than 1,100 public comments. A final determination is due by the end of August.

Whether to ease the tariffs is the administration's first major trade decision since Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee after Biden stepped aside in late July.

The decision is politically tricky. Dialing back the duties could draw criticism from Republicans that Harris will take a softer stand on China trade in a campaign where Trump has vowed to hit Chinese imports with hefty tariffs. Proceeding with the original hikes would draw complaints about higher costs, even from some Democrats in Congress.

China has vowed retaliation against the "bullying" tariff hikes and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said they showed that some in the US may be "losing their minds."

The US decision will come in the same week that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with Wang in a visit aimed at keeping US-China tensions in check with the November US election fast approaching.

The Biden-Harris tariffs include a new 25 per cent levy on Chinese-made ship-to-shore cranes, a China-dominated sector with no US producers. The Port of New York and New Jersey said it has eight cranes on order from China's state-owned ZPMC at $18 million apiece, and a 25 per cent tariff would boost the cost of each by $4.5 million, "causing a significant strain on the Port's critical and limited resources."