President Joe Biden, at a White House event Tuesday to announce new tariffs targeted at China, said his approach to trade policy was smarter and better for workers and consumers than blanket measures threatened by former President Donald Trump.
“It’s a smart approach,” Biden said of his move to impose “strategic and targeted” tariffs on Chinese imports such as electric cars, solar cells, steel, aluminum , syringes, personal protective equipment and port cranes.
“Compare that to…what the previous administration did. My predecessor promised to increase U.S. exports and boost manufacturing, but he did neither. “He failed,” Biden continued, flanked by representatives of the metalworkers and aluminum industry whom Trump had tried to convince with his tough trade approach.
However, Biden's trade action keeps in place tariffs imposed by Trump on more than $300 billion in Chinese goods in 2018 and 2019, despite calls from several business groups to ease the tariffs.
Biden also contrasted his willingness to work with allies to confront China with Trump's more individual approach.
He boasted of using export controls and other measures so that "the most advanced American technologies that we develop or invent cannot be used by the Chinese government...to harm our national security”. This is something Trump has never done, he said.
He also criticized Trump's proposal to impose 10% tariffs on all imported goods to help reduce the U.S. trade deficit. “This will increase costs for families by an average of $1,500 per year,” Biden said. “[Trump] just doesn’t get it.”
Trump campaign spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt criticized Biden's actions as "a weak and futile attempt to distract from the serious damage his crazy electric vehicle mandate is causing to the U.S. auto industry and the way his extreme policies are wiping out thousands of American cars.” Careers.”
Levitt also criticized Biden's decision not to raise tariffs on gasoline cars made in China, which she said proves Biden wants to force "Americans to buy expensive electric cars that they don't want they don't and they can't afford it. Conventional Chinese cars already face tariffs of 27.5% due to Trump's previous tariff measures, compared to a 2.5% duty on most imported cars.