Administration Proposes Increased Tariffs On $18 Billion Of Chinese Imports, Including Syringes And PPE

May 14, 2024

Today, the Biden administration announced its intent to increase tariffs on $18 billion of imports from China—including face masks, medical gloves, and syringes and needles—to counter what the White House is calling "unfair trade practices." The tariff announcements are a result of the four-year review of the tariff lists from 2018 and 2019. The proposal for needles and syringes is a 50% tariff and for face masks and gloves the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposes an increase to 25%.

President Biden is directing increases in tariffs across strategic sectors such as steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells, ship-to-shore cranes, and medical products.

Next week, USTR will issue a Federal Register notice announcing procedures for interested persons to comment on the proposed modifications and information concerning an exclusion process for machinery used in domestic manufacturing.

Ambassador Tai is proposing the following increases:

The separate list of 77 COVID-19 products that are currently excluded from tariffs is not discussed in this announcement. However, those exclusions expire on May 31 and an announcement is expected soon.

Additional Reading

• U.S. Trade Representative Press Release
• White House Fact Sheet

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