The Biden administration on August 31st has again delayed the announcement on final determinations for steep U.S. tariff hikes on electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors and solar cells made in China, stating that the final decision will be announced in the coming days.
The Biden administration announced in May that tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles would be raised to 100%, on semiconductors and solar cells would be increased to 50%, and 25% would be imposed on lithium ion batteries and key minerals, steel and aluminum, ship-to-shore cranes and syringes. These new tariffs were originally scheduled to take effect on August 1st.
But the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) stated that more time is needed to study over 1100 public comments from the industry. It set a deadline of August 31st, which was further postponed by the announcement on Friday.
A spokesman of the USTR said that the agency continues to develop the final determination regarding proposed modifications to the tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019.
“The USTR continues to make a final decision on proposed modifications of the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation,” a spokesman for the agency said in a statement. “As the USTR continues this work, we expect to make the final determination public in the coming days.”
