Biden administration to review tariff on Chinese imports
Effectiveness of the tariffs is being questioned due to impact on the manufacturing sector
After a review on the effectiveness of tariffs, the Biden administration has hinted at dropping President Trump’s raft of measures on US-China trade.
According to a May 10th press briefing focussing on inflation, Biden said that the government was looking at “what would have the most impact” in future.
President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on $50billion worth of goods in 2018, citing his ‘America First’ policy as the driver. At the time, business leaders warned this could be a counterproductive move. US shippers viewed the tariffs as an additional tax, but they have not noticeably lowered the trade deficit (the key reason for imposing them).
By 2020 it had become obvious that tariffs had imposed an additional strain on global supply chain operations while also creating a degree of unwanted confusion and tension for shippers.
Fear of tariffs has also forced manufacturers to look at alternative manufacturing hubs such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, amongst others.
As yet, nothing has been decided by the Biden administration, but the trade war has negatively impacted manufacturing sectors according to analysis by Federal departments.