Biden keeps Trump's trade tariffs against Beijing

In the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing, the majority of US companies demand that the tariffs be upheld against the US president's  desire to lift some to reduce the domestic effects of inflation. However, the US trade deficit with China continues to grow.

Washington (AsiaNews) - The Biden administration will maintain the trade tariffs against Chinese products introduced by Donald Trump in 2018. stated by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai last night. He statement came on the back of calls from domestic industries not to cancel the tariffs, which they said were necessary to protect the US economy from unfair practices by the Chinese.

Tai made it clear that a review of the tariffs against Beijing is still ongoing. Washington's focus is on Chinese state aid, such as trade subsidies, which distort the market dynamics between China and the US.

President Biden had considered removing some tariffs to reduce inflationary pressure in the country: an option dropped after Beijing launched massive military exercises around Taiwan last month in response to the visit of Nancy Pelosi - speaker of the US House of Representatives - to Taipei.

However, the tariff policy has not improved Washington's balance of payments. In the first six months of the year, the US deficit in trade with Beijing exceeded USD 200 billion: in the same period in 2021 it had stood at around USD 157 billion, the US Census Bureau reported.

In order to find a solution to the trade war triggered by Trump, the US and China had signed a preliminary agreement in January 2020 in which Beijing pledged to increase its purchase of goods and services from the US by around USD 200 billion by the end of 2021 - compared to 2017 levels. The target was not met, as Tai repeatedly pointed out. 

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