And just like that, the Biden Administration has reengaged in the China Tariff War. With today’s announcement of significant increases in key sectors, the Administration is putting special attention on protecting the U.S.’s fledgling EV industry. While the Administration has recently been saber-rattling about Chinese-made electric vehicles, there was little indication that battery components were on the chopping block. This was especially true after the Administration took such significant steps to weed out Chinese suppliers in the recent rules that define the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) tax credits. In fact, some might argue that the policy behind the final IRA’s rules is inconsistent with this most recent announcement on tariffs. And, if the U.S.’s push towards electrification was not already hampered by the IRA’s final rules, today’s tariff announcement will certainly have a chilling effect on supply chains and the costs of EVs in the U.S. in the near future.
正如预期所料，拜登政府重新加入了中美的贸易之争。随着今天宣布将在关键领域大幅增加关税，拜登政府正特别关注保护美国刚刚起步的电动汽车行业。虽然政府最近一直在对中国制造的电动汽车提出挑战，但几乎没有迹象表明，电池组件会受到如此打击。特别是在最近出台的《通货膨胀削减法案》税收抵免的规则中剔除中国供应商这一举措，使这种趋势显得更为明显。事实上，甚至一些人可能会认为，《通货膨胀削减法案》最终规则剔除中国供应商这一举措背后的政策与近期加征中国产品关税的公告并不一致。并且，如果美国朝向电气化的推动尚未被《通货膨胀削减法案》的终规则所限制，那么今天的关税公告肯定会对美国电动汽车供应链和未来的成本产生冷却效应。
As we reported in May 2022, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) commenced the statutory four-year review of China 301 tariffs. Just a few short weeks ago, the USTR was under attack from members of Congress over the Administration’s lack of action on tariffs. That all changed today, as Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that under the direction of President Biden, further actions are required to “encourage the elimination of the People’s Republic of China’s unfair technology transfer-related policies and practices.” This decision came at the end of President Biden’s first term, when, for the past three years, the Administration seemed content with leaving the status quo on China with respect to tariffs. This comes at a time when, in recent weeks, President Trump threatened 60% or greater tariffs on all Chinese goods if re-elected.
正如我们在2022年5月报道的那样，美国贸易代表办公室启动了对中国301关税的法定四年期复审。就在几周前，美国贸易代表曾被国会成员指责政府在关税问题上并未有所作为。然而，就在今天，美国贸易代表戴琪宣布，在拜登总统的指示下，将采取进一步行动，旨在“鼓励消除中国不公平的技术转让相关政策和做法。” 这一决定是在拜登总统的第一任期即将结束时做出的；然而在过去三年中，政府似乎对中国的关税现状感到满意。与此同时，在最近几周，前总统特朗普曾表示，如果再次当选，将对所有中国商品征收60%或更高的关税。
Specifically, the Trade Representative has recommended that products from China that are currently subject to Section 301 tariffs should remain.
具体而言，美国贸易代表建议目前已经受到301条款关税限制的来自中国的产品其关税应该继续保持。
In addition, President Biden has directed USTR to take action to increase tariffs across “strategic sectors,” such as steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells, ship-to-shore crane, and medical product. Specifically, the Trade Representative is proposing to modify in the following strategic sectors:
除此之外，拜登总统指示美国贸易代表采取行动，增加钢铁、铝、半导体、电动汽车、电池、关键矿物、太阳能电池、船岸起重机和医疗产品等“战略领域”的关税。具体而言，贸易代表建议将对以下战略领域的产品进行关税修改：
The Trade Representative is also proposing to establish an exclusion process targeting machinery used in domestic manufacturing. According to USTR’s report, “the proposed exclusion process will be limited to machinery under certain 8-digit tariff lines in Chapter 84 and Chapter 85 of the HTSUS.” The Trade Representative is also proposing 19 temporary exclusions for certain solar manufacturing equipment.
美国贸易代表还建议建立一个关税排除程序，该程序将针对美国国内制造业中使用的机械设备。根据美国贸易代表的报告，“所提议的排除程序将仅限于《美国关税编目及统计法》第84章和第85章中某些8位关税条目下的机械设备。” 贸易代表还提议对19项太阳能制造设备关税条目授予临时关税排除。
According to Ambassador Tai, USTR will issue a Federal Register notice next week announcing the proposed modification and exclusion process. Until this notice has been released, the impact on specific imported products has not been identified.
美国贸易代表戴琪表示，美国贸易代表办公室将在下周发布《联邦纪事》通知，宣布所提议的关税修改条目和排除程序。在通知发布之前，目前尚未确定对具体进口产品的影响。
Our team will continue to follow any announcement from the USTR and report any new developments in the following weeks.
我们的团队将继续关注美国贸易代表办公室发布的公告，并在接下来的几周报告新的进展。
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