Christopher Tang

Opinion | Biden still hasn’t lifted tariffs on Chinese goods – what is taking so long?

Biden promised to review the trade war with China at the start of his presidency, but 18 months on and with inflation surging, he has yet to make a decision

Some in Biden’s camp want China to commit to buying more US goods before lifting the tariffs but, in the meantime, they are hurting American consumers

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Containers are stacked at the Port of Los Angeles in California on July 7. US President Joe Biden is said to be reviewing some of the tariffs first imposed on a range of Chinese goods, from steel to clothing, four years ago. Photo: EPA-EFE

Christopher Tang

Published: 3:30am, 3 Aug 2022

US President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping talked for more than two hours last Thursday. It was to be expected that both leaders reiterated their current positions on Taiwan and the Ukraine crisis, resulting in an impasse.

But many were surprised to see that Biden did not discuss his plan to lift some tariffs on Chinese imports as a way to curb 40-year-high inflation levels in the US. The pieces are all in place to end these costly tariffs. What is he waiting for?

The time has come for Biden to make a decision on the tariffs for the sake of American consumers and for himself. If not, his dwindling 40 per cent approval rating, as of late July, will continue to fall. His White House staff will become demoralised by his indecisiveness. Worst of all, his hopes for a second term will be dashed.

During the 2020 presidential election, Biden stated that, if elected, he would scrap the tariffs on Chinese imports because manufacturing had gone into a recession, the agriculture sector had lost billions of dollars that taxpayers had to compensate, and the unilateral approach of levying tariffs on China had not worked.

US President Joe Biden delivers comments on rising inflation in the US from Washington on July 28. Photo: Bloomberg

Biden’s arguments for ending these tariffs were logically sound in 2020, but he has not acted on them since becoming president in January 2021. What has changed? Nothing. In fact, many events have added weight to his arguments.