United States (US) President Joe Biden revealed on Saturday that he will talk to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping “soon” and that his administration is currently reviewing the trade tariffs imposed on Beijing during the Trump era.
Biden did not specify when exactly the two leaders would speak, saying only “I’m going to be talking to him.” However, he hinted that a decision on the tariffs was impending in order to help control rising consumer prices in the US. “We’re in the process of doing that... I’m in the process of making up my mind. We’re looking at what would have the most positive impact,” he replied when asked whether his administration had plans to lift any tariffs.
“I want every American to know that I am taking inflation very seriously,” Biden said. “The first cause of inflation is a once-in-a-century pandemic. Not only did it shut down our global economy, it threw supply chains and demand completely out of whack,” he added. Washington’s national security and economic aides are currently in the process of completing a review of the US tariff policy and making recommendations to the president.
The tariffs imposed under President Donald Trump applied a 25% duty on $300 billion worth of Chinese products, including diapers, clothing, and furniture. The several economic penalties were aimed at reducing Washington’s trade deficit and pushing Beijing to adopt fairer practices. While several American businesses have benefited from the new protective policies against Chinese imports, companies that use the goods as inputs in areas such as manufacturing have suffered under the trade war.
Reporter: “You’re lifting the tariffs [on China]?”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 19, 2022
Biden: “WE are in the process of making up MY mind.” pic.twitter.com/A95B7gz0cq
In this regard, US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has called for the scrapping of some of these tariffs. Other higher-ups in the Biden administration, including US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, also told lawmakers last week that Biden is looking to “reconfigure” the tariffs, as US inflation is at its highest level in 40 years. She acknowledged that tariffs are “a tool in the economic policy toolbox” but remarked that there are “a lot of other tools at our disposal.”
It is being speculated that Washington is attempting to set up a possible call between the two leaders this summer as tensions in the US-China relationship worsen over a broad range of issues, including Taiwan, support for Russia in the Ukraine war, as well as longstanding human rights issues. A source familiar with the matter said that there is a possibility that the two leaders could hold a call as soon as next month, but an in-person meeting of the two would have to wait until after China’s National Party Congress later this year.
China has previously called on the Biden administration, which is under immense pressure to control inflation, to remove the tariffs, saying “the trade war does nobody any good.”