U.S. Tariff Increases On Chinese EVs Start Aug. 1

Some of the steep US tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports, including electric vehicles and their batteries, computer chips, and medical products, will take effect on Aug. 1, the US Trade Representative's office said, David Shepardson and David Lawder reported for Reuters.

President Joe Biden will keep tariffs put in place by the previous administration while ratcheting up others, including a quadrupling of import duties on Chinese EVs to over 100% and a doubling of semiconductor duties to 50%. I Photo: Huang Wei, Xinhua

President Joe Biden will keep tariffs put in place by the previous administration while ratcheting up others, including a quadrupling of import duties on Chinese EVs to over 100% and a doubling of semiconductor duties to 50%.

The USTR said in a federal notice that a 30-day public comment period will close on June 28.

The trade agency is seeking comments on the effects of the proposed tariff increase on the US economy, including consumers, and on whether a proposed 25% duty on medical face masks, gloves, and syringes should be higher.

The notice also provides specific tariff codes for some 387 product categories affected along with new duty rates and implementation dates.

Tariffs targeted to start in 2025 and 2026 will start on Jan. 1 for those years, the USTR said.

The proposed Chinese tariff increases include "products targeted by China for dominance, or products in sectors where the US has recently made significant investments."

The US is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy tax subsidies to develop US EV, solar, and other new industries, and has said China's state-driven excess production capacity in these sectors threatens the viability of US firms.

The tariffs are meant to protect US jobs from a feared flood of cheap Chinese imports.