U.S. To Continue Punitive Tariffs On Imports From Communist China

On September 2, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the continuation of punitive tariffs on imports from the Republic of China imposed by the Trump administration. The USTR said the U.S. would continue a statutory review process to examine the relevant duties.

The U.S. punitive tariffs imposed against the Communist China began in 2018 by the Trump administration. At the time, the punitive tariffs ranged from 7.5 percent to 25 percent on a total of about $370 billion in imports from the Communist China.

According to the US law, the tariffs automatically expire four years after they were imposed, unless the USTR’s office receives a request for their continuation from a beneficiary. The official receipt of just one request triggers the review and continuation of the tariff.

The Biden administration reportedly launched a quadrennial review of tariffs on Communist China in May of this year and collected comments from stakeholders within the United States.

Over the past 2 months, the USTR has received a total of 434 extension requests from U.S. businesses and trade associations. The grounds for the petition include that the tariff measures would induce the Chinese Communist Regime to cease its specific harmful policies and practices, allowing U.S. companies to compete with imports from the Communist China, invest in new technologies, expand domestic production, and hire additional labors.