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The White House has confirmed that certain Chinese goods, including electric cars and medical syringes, are now subject to a 245% tariff, ABC News reports, citing the administration’s statement on 16 April.
As explained in Washington, this is not a general increase in tariffs against China, but an additional 145 per cent duty on certain goods that were already subject to trade restrictions. Thus, the total burden on certain categories of Chinese exports has increased to almost a quarter of the value of the goods.
The White House has clarified that Donald Trump initiated the tariff policy against China when he was president in 2017-2021. Subsequently, President Joe Biden maintained most of these restrictions and even tightened them in certain sectors, including the electric vehicle market.
“Biden imposed a 100 per cent tariff on electric vehicles imported from China. Now, when combined with Trump’s new 145% tariffs, the total rate reaches 245%,” the statement said.
The purpose of the new measures is to protect the US domestic market and producers from the aggressive expansion of Chinese goods, especially in sensitive industries such as green energy and medical products.
Such steps are expected to further exacerbate trade tensions between the US and China, especially in the run-up to the 2025 elections, where the economic strategy towards China remains a key topic.
