Janet Yellen confirms she is pressing Joe Biden administration for some China tariff cuts
- The US Treasury Secretary is said to be at odds with trade chief Katherine Tai on whether to eliminate some of the Trump-era measures to combat inflation
- Yellen argues that some of the duties on Chinese imports ‘aren’t very strategic’ but are hurting US businesses and consumers
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday confirmed she is advocating within the Biden administration for eliminating some tariffs on Chinese imports that “aren’t very strategic” but are hurting US consumers and businesses.
Yellen told a press conference ahead of a G7 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting that internal discussions are under way about the punitive “Section 301” tariffs imposed by former US president Donald Trump on hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese goods.
“Some of them, to me, seem as though they impose more harm on consumers and businesses and aren’t very strategic in the sense of addressing real issues we have with China,” she said, referring to unfair trade practices, national security issues or supply chain vulnerabilities.
Reuters on Tuesday reported exclusively that US President Joe Biden will have to resolve the heated debate among his aides over whether to cut the tariffs as his administration tries to battle high inflation, citing sources familiar with the conversations.
While Yellen has argued for removing some of the tariffs, the sources said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai prefers to keep them in place to develop a more strategic China trade agenda that protects US jobs and China’s behaviour in global markets. This approach could even include new strategic tariffs.
