US says start of new China tariffs will be delayed by at least two weeks

USTR also sought input whether a proposed 25 per cent duty on medical masks, gloves and a planned 50 per cent tariff on syringes should be higher.

02:11

Trump vows high tariffs on China-made cars in his first speech after assassination attempt

Washington is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy tax subsidies to develop US EV, solar and other new industries, and has said China’s state-driven excess production capacity in these sectors threatens the viability of US companies. The tariffs are meant to protect American jobs from a feared flood of cheap Chinese imports.

The new measures affect US$18 billion in current imported Chinese goods including steel and aluminium, semiconductors, electric vehicles, critical minerals, solar cells and cranes, the White House said. The EV figure may have more political than practical impact in the United States, which imports few Chinese EVs that are subject to prior vehicle tariffs.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the tariffs would increase the cost of each crane by US$4.5 million “causing a significant strain on the port’s limited resources.”

The largest two categories, making up US$13.2 billion of the targeted imports from China in 2023, are lithium-ion batteries, according to US Census Bureau data.

The US imported US$427 billion in goods from China in 2023 and exported US$148 billion to the world’s number two economy, a trade gap that has persisted for decades and become an ever more sensitive subject in Washington.

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USTR запуск тариф китайский неделя 25-процентный налог заявление новый