Zhou Xiaoming

Opinion | Under Joe Biden, the US trade war on China is only likely to get worse

The new assault, focusing on tech export controls, is a game changer, targeting whole sectors, redrawing global supply chains and remaking global trade rules

The US president may ditch some Trump-era tariffs after meeting Xi but America’s geopolitical objectives are unlikely to change, along with the aggressive trade policy on China

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Zhou Xiaoming

Published: 1:30am, 24 Nov 2022Updated: 2:04am, 24 Nov 2022

These days, talk of Washington’s trade war against China seems to have faded, whether from headlines or in conversation.

But the tariffs that former US president Donald Trump slapped on Chinese goods continue to rack up an estimated US$40 billion in duties each year. Although largely borne by American consumers and manufacturers, these tariffs also hit Chinese imports hard. According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, China now accounts for only 18 per cent of US goods imports, from 22 per cent before the trade war.

And yet, in spite of a World Trade Organization ruling against the US’ unilateral action, the Biden administration is in no hurry to scrap any of the duties that International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva has described as counterproductive.

The trade war has not been halted. On the contrary, under President Joe Biden, it remains just as sinister and destructive, if not more so.

With tariffs receding in importance as Washington’s hard-hitting trade tool, export controls have taken centre stage. This tool was first used on ZTE in the spring of 2016, then Huawei Technologies in 2019.

Biden’s White House has used it to blacklist hundreds of Chinese entities and individuals. Other initiatives include the EU-US Trade and Technology Council, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’s critical and emerging technology working group.