Yellen Says Biden Administration 'Reviewing Tariff Policy'

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee that the Biden Administration is continuing to review its tariff policy "especially in regards to China."

• Yellen declines to give a specific timeline for the policy review and says: "I honestly don't think tariff policy is a panacea with respect to inflation."
• Yellen says there are concerns over supply chain resilience and national security to consider before a move can be made on tariffs.
• Yellen: "You know, this administration inherited a set of 301 tariffs imposed by the Trump administration that I think really weren’t designed to serve our strategic interests..."
• She says tariffs "ended up being paid by Americans, not by the Chinese, hurt American consumers and businesses. We are taking a look at those and looking to be able to... reconfigure those tariffs in a way that would be more strategic."
• Earlier this week, Biden administration trade rep Katherine Tai said that a "singular focus" on tariffs would not resolve inflation and advised a "thoughtful, strategic, deliberate" approach to the US-Chinese trade relationship.