In response to a question about the prospect of new tariffs, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that Beijing could take “significant” action in response to U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
“president [Joe] Mr. Biden believes that everything we do should be targeted to our concerns, not broad-based, and hopefully we won’t see a significant reaction from China. But that’s always a possibility,” Yellen said in an interview on Bloomberg TV on Monday.
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen leaves China, citing ‘difficult conversations’ and complaints of overcapacity
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen leaves China, citing ‘difficult conversations’ and complaints of overcapacity
The agency will then launch a review, with the U.S. Trade Representative required to examine the impact of the measure, first introduced in 2018, in four years.
The latest measure, expected to be announced Tuesday, would roughly quadruple the tax on EVs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Yellen said Monday that she did not want to pre-empt any announcements regarding the review.
However, he stressed that “the President believes it is extremely important for the United States to have a role and presence in strategic industries such as semiconductors and clean energy.”
In my engagement with the Chinese people, I have made it very clear that I believe there needs to be a level playing field to compete.
Yellen added that these areas will form the basis of job creation and national security for decades to come.
“In my engagement with China, I believe there needs to be a level playing field for competition, and I have particular concerns about clean energy, semiconductors, and areas that China has highly encouraged through its policies. “We have made it clear that there is a lot of demand,” she said. “We believe that this is leading to excess production capacity.”
Yellen said she expected China to recognize the U.S. actions as targeting, but declined to speculate on possible retaliatory measures by Beijing. “We’re going to continue with targeted actions, but let’s see what happens,” she said.
He noted that China is providing “huge subsidies to critical areas of advanced manufacturing,” and Biden is confident that U.S. economic stimulus provided through the Control of Inflation Act will support the industry. He said he hopes to be protected by the
“Like me, I believe that complete dependence on China in these areas is unacceptable,” Yellen said.
Yellen traveled to Stafford County, Virginia, on Monday to tour broadband infrastructure projects funded by the Biden administration.
Additional reporting by Reuters
