U.S. lawmakers and politicians continue to look at U.S.-China economic ties and how to ensure that the United States is protected from predatory Chinese economic behavior. Over the weekend, President Trump suggested that he would enact a 100% tariff on cars made in Mexico by Chinese companies, which is more than the 50% tariff he has previously threatened. At a rally in Ohio, Trump said, “Those big monster car manufacturing plants you are building in Mexico right now and you think you are going to get that—not hire Americans and you’re going to sell the car to us, no. We are going to put a 100% tariff on every car that comes across the lot.” Trump has previously said that he plans to enact new tariffs or revised tariff levels/covered products targeting China and this latest idea capitalizes on momentum in Congress on the issue.
Just last week, a group of major unions has urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to utilize “all appropriate and feasible” measures to address unfair policies that enable China to assert dominance in the global shipbuilding industry, filing a petition calling for actions to be taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The proposed measures include imposing a fee on every Chinese-built ship upon docking at a U.S. port.
USTR Tai stated that she is looking forward to reviewing the petition for the Section 301 probe “in detail.” “We have seen the PRC create dependencies and vulnerabilities in multiple sectors, like steel, aluminum, solar, batteries, and critical minerals, harming American workers and businesses and creating real risks for our supply chains.”
In response to the petition, President Biden also stated that he and USTR Tai will “always stand against China’s unfair practices—and as long as I am president, I’ll fight for U.S. workers and jobs.” For more information, please see ACG Analytics’ recent note.
Finally, late last week, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo brought up the U.S. export control regime, saying that Commerce is always monitoring and evaluating the efficacy of the program. When asked if the United States is planning on broadening out its semiconductor export controls, she said “We look at this every single day…Technology is changing faster than ever, which means we have to wake up every day and ask ourselves, ‘are we doing enough?’.”
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