Biden Expected To Unveil New China Tariff Plan In Pittsburg Speech Shortly

President Biden is shortly due to deliver a speech in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania where he is expected to announce the White House is considering tripling tariffs on some Chinese metals. LIVESTREAM

• The move, dsigned in part to outflank former President Donald Trump’s punitive tariff plan, comes strategically in a state which is critical to Biden's bid to secure re-election in November. It is likely part of a broader set of upcoming policy proposals to offset the risk to US and global markets from Chinese industrial overcapacity.
• Bloomberg reports: “Biden will propose new 25% tariffs on certain Chinese steel and aluminum products as part of an ongoing review, while the US also launches a formal probe into China’s shipbuilding industry. Biden will reiterate that United States Steel Corp., based in Pittsburgh, should remain American-owned.”
• NEC Director Lael Brainard told reporters: “The president understands we must invest in American manufacturing, but we also have to protect those investments and those workers from unfair exports associated with China’s industrial overcapacity.”
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said yesterday: “While in Guangzhou and Beijing this month, I was able to have frank discussions with senior Chinese officials regarding China’s industrial policy practices and the negative spillovers that overcapacity can create for the global economy. These are concerns I hear not only from American firms, but from many others as well. And I continue to believe that addressing overcapacity and broader macroeconomic imbalances can help China’s own economy.”