Way Too Little, Way Too Late

The #Biden Adminstration puts #tariffs on Chinese imports:

The #US rolled out steep tariffs on Chinese products on Tuesday, quadrupling duties on #electric-vehicles (EVs) to over 100% and imposing new levies on #computer #chips, #solar-cells and #lithium-ion-batteries. The #WhiteHouse says the new measures are intended to “protect American workers and businesses.”

The tariffs will affect $18 billion of Chinese imported goods, including #steel and #aluminum, #semiconductors, #batteries, critical #minerals, #solar cells and #cranes.

Biden administration officials claim the measures have come in response to years of “unfair trade practices” by #China, including forced technology transfers, intellectual property violations, and cyberhacking of American businesses.

The time for tariffs is when a country still has #industrial #capacity, not after it has #transitioned to a so-called “service economy”. Service economies don’t win wars, they #service the #soldiers of the #victors.

And it’s not like this is going to help US electric vehicle #manufacturers. No one wants to buy their products whether a Chinese alternative is available or not.