The US Government is still planning large increases to import tariffs on an array of China-made products including electric vehicles and major components. The federal ‘Office of the US Trade Representative’ (USTR) has set a date of 1 August for implementation of the new rates.

The Biden administration has said that it will increase import duties on Chinese made BEVs fourfold, from 25% at present to 100%, to “safeguard American jobs”.

The US is China’s largest trading partner and Biden said the new duties would affect US$18bn worth of Chinese imports. He said the tariffs would be imposed on “carefully targeted strategic sectors”, mostly in “green technology”, to allow US manufacturers more time to catch up with their Chinese counterparts.

USTR said in its federal notice that there is a 30-day public comment period will close on 28 June.