The Biden White House and the Trump White House: Comparing China’s Unfair Trade Practices with the U.S.’s Trade Policy

While Biden increased tariffs on certain technologies, the other tariffs imposed by Trump were not increased. Even though the White house acknowledged that the tariffs hadn’t met the goals of increasing U.S. exports or stopping theft of intellectual property, it’s still true.

The White House says “strategic” hikes, paired with massive subsidies previously passed by Congress, can help build a U.S.-based supply chain for green energy.

One of Trump’s policy moves when he was in the White House was tariffs on China. Democrats warned that American consumers would pay the price, and that this could hurt the economy.

It sells for $10,000 in China. Smaller sizes, innovative designs and efficient business practices help keep the prices of Chinese autos down. But exploitative labor practices and enormous government subsidies also play a big role.

Chinese makers like BYD make good electric vehicles that aren’t just cheap. A Biden official, Sue Helper, recently took a BYD Seagull for a test ride and called it “impressive and cute.”

If the cheap cars were sold in the U.S., they would make a big impact on the American car industry and lead to job losses at American factories.

Increasing the price of electric vehicles seems to contradict another Biden priority: Cutting carbon emissions. A widespread transition from gasoline vehicles to battery-powered cars is central to Biden’s climate goals.

The batteries and supply chains for electric cars in the US will need more and cheaper in order to survive, and the tariffs are meant to start the clock on that.

Not too long ago, both Democrats and Republicans vocally endorsed free trade, denouncing trade barriers as obstacles to prosperity and government support for specific industries as “picking winners and losers.” Bipartisan support for tariffs is still on the rise. Industrial policy is a type of subsidy for certain manufacturing types.

In some respects, Trump’s policy toward China is now Biden’s policy toward China. But there are differences, as the two presidential candidates themselves point out.

Most of the new tariffs cover items that the Biden administration has sought to have made in America through investments in the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Lael Brainard, Biden’s top economic adviser, said China’s unfair practices have harmed communities in Michigan and Pennsylvania and they are due to Biden’s investment agenda.

Once tariffs have been imposed, it is hard to reduce them, because the affected industry is used to them, according to Michael Froman, who was U.S. trade representative.

The White House has downplayed the risk that the new tariffs could spark retaliation from China, saying that the issues have been discussed during meetings of top U.S. and Chinese officials, and were unlikely to come as a surprise.

It’s the latest move the US has taken amid efforts to ramp up domestic manufacturing while escalating trade tensions with China. The increased tariffs are expected to affect $18 billion a year in imports.

Higher tariffs on batteries, semiconductors, and critical minerals could also affect the US EV industry. The tariffs on battery parts will go up to 25 percent from 7.5 percent. The increase in non-EV batteries will go into effect in 2026. The tariffs on Chinese chips will double to 50 percent in 2025, according to a report.

Solar manufacturers in the US urged the Biden administration to impose tariffs on solar panels from four countries in Southeast Asia earlier this year, after a Commerce Department investigation determined that Chinese companies were circumventing tariffs by moving goods through other countries.

The US already blocks solar imports from China’s Xinjiang region, where roughly 40 percent of solar-grade polysilicon manufacturing takes place, over concerns about forced labor and human rights violations along the supply chain.

The US Auto Industry Can Outperform any Other Country in the Inflationary Climate Change Era: An Analysis from Bozzella’s Perspective

The potential of catastrophic global climate change hangs over the US auto industry, and the world as a whole. The US Energy Information Administration estimates that motor and diesel fuel use accounted for a third of the country’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions last year.

Will the effort work? According to John Bozzella, the president and CEO of the US’s main automotive lobbying group, US automakers can out compete and out innovate anyone in the EV transition. No doubt about that. The issue at this moment isn’t the will … the issue is time.”

The Inflation Reduction Act requires billions to be spent to build up domestic supply chains for electric vehicles and other renewable energy sources. Those efforts could take years to complete.