US says start of new China tariffs will be delayed by at least two weeks

The US Trade Representative’s office said on Tuesday some of the steep US tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports, including electric vehicles (EVs) and their batteries, computer chips and medical products will be delayed by at least two weeks.

USTR said in May those tariffs would take effect on August 1, but the office said it is still reviewing 1,100 comments received and now expects to issue a final determination in August. The office added the new tariffs will take effect around two weeks after the final determination is released.

USTR also sought input whether a proposed 25 per cent duty on medical masks, gloves and a planned 50 per cent tariff on syringes should be higher.

Washington is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy tax subsidies to develop US EV, solar and other new industries, and has said China’s state-driven excess production capacity in these sectors threatens the viability of US companies.

The tariffs are meant to protect American jobs from a feared flood of cheap Chinese imports.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the tariffs would increase the cost of each crane by US$4.5 million “causing a significant strain on the port’s limited resources”.

The largest two categories, making up US$13.2 billion of the targeted imports from China in 2023, are lithium-ion batteries, according to US Census Bureau data.