Biden "Considering Tariff Reductions on China... Will Speak with Xi Jinping Soon"

President Joe Biden of the United States
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] U.S. President Joe Biden stated that he is still reviewing the issue of easing high tariffs on China. He also mentioned that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon.

According to AP News and others, on the 18th (local time), President Biden met with reporters near his personal villa in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and when asked when he would talk with President Xi, he briefly replied, "Soon." Earlier, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources, that a call between the two leaders could take place as early as July.

Since taking office in January last year, President Biden has contacted President Xi four times via video conferences or phone calls, but they have not yet met face-to-face.

When asked whether he had made a decision regarding the high tariffs imposed on China, President Biden said that a related review is underway. When further asked if the tariffs would be removed, he only replied that procedures to make a decision are in progress.

The U.S. government, during former President Donald Trump's administration, imposed high tariffs on over 2,200 Chinese products worth hundreds of billions of dollars, citing unfair trade practices by China, but reduced the number to 549 products in early 2020.

Since then, the Biden administration temporarily exempted tariffs on 352 of the 549 Chinese products subject to tariffs in March. Recently, as the U.S. consumer price inflation rate surged to the 8% range for the first time in about 40 years, demands to lower tariffs on Chinese products to ease inflationary pressures have increased.

On the 13th, U.S. media Axios reported that the administration is considering lowering high tariffs on some consumer goods but excluding steel and aluminum from the reduction.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.