It’s rare that the Left will admit that they’re wrong. But they can’t escape it this time.
And Biden tucked tail and handed Trump a massive victory he never expected.
President Joe Biden plans to raise taxes on a number of Chinese goods, including electric vehicles, battery components, semiconductors, microchips, steel, and aluminum.
Tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar components, and semiconductors will rise from 25% to 50%, while tariffs on other sectors will rise by 25%, according to USA Today.
The new tariffs on China, which Biden will announce at the White House on Tuesday, will be enforced over the next two years and are expected to affect approximately $18 billion in Chinese goods.
During his address, Biden will also publicly endorse the continuation of former President Donald Trump’s tariffs on more than $300 billion in Chinese imports, according to The New York Times.
Biden’s tariff increase on China follows months of campaigning against former President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the communist country.
The then-Democratic presidential contender criticized Trump for his tariffs on Chinese goods many times in 2019, calling Trump’s policies “senseless” and claiming that, in the end, Americans would be “foot[ing] the bill.”
“Mexico isn’t paying for the wall. American military families are. China isn’t paying for the tariffs. American farmers and manufacturers are,” Biden said in a post on Twitter (now known as X) in September 2019.
“The American people continue to foot the bill for President Trump’s senseless political games.”
A top Biden administration official justified the president’s increased tariffs against China, stating that the world requires “diversified, not concentrated, production of our most critical goods and technologies.”
“China can’t be the only country that produces clean technology for the world we need,” a senior administration official said.
“We need diversified, not concentrated, production of our most critical goods and technologies,” the official said, according to CNN, adding, “That’s the kind of dynamic we think will produce resilient supply chains and clean technology.”
The Biden administration’s tariff increase on Chinese electric vehicles will have an impact as the federal government continues to spend extensively in EVs and renewable energy.
According to Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, Biden’s action is aimed specifically at “communities in Michigan and Pennsylvania,” two 2024 battleground areas that might help decide the presidential election winner.
“We know China’s unfair practices have harmed communities in Michigan and Pennsylvania and around the country that are now having the opportunity to come back due to President Biden’s investment agenda,” said Brainard.
Earlier this year, Trump proposed boosting tariffs on China by more than 60%. The former president also denied starting a “trade war” with China during his one-term presidency.
“It’s not a trade war. I did great with China with everything,” he said in February.
“I want China to do great, I do. And I like President Xi a lot. He was a very good friend of mine during my term.”
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
