Janet Yellen predicts China might retaliate against new U.S. tariffs aimed at strategic sectors, highlighting tensions in U.S.-China economic relations.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has indicated that China may issue a significant response to the new tariffs that the United States is expected to impose on Chinese goods. These statements come as President Joe Biden is anticipated to announce new tariffs targeting sectors such as electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment, and medical supplies.
During an interview with Bloomberg Television, Yellen expressed the administration's intent behind the tariffs, stating, "President Biden believes that anything we do should be targeted to our concerns and not broad-based and hopefully we will not see a significant Chinese response. But that's always a possibility." The tariffs, according to sources cited by Reuters, are likely to include a substantial increase in levies for electric vehicles.
The forthcoming decision on tariffs marks the conclusion of a comprehensive review initiated after tariffs were first implemented during the trade war under former President Donald Trump. These levies, which affected approximately $300 billion in goods from China, have been under scrutiny to assess their impact, as required after four years.
The announcement of the new tariffs is expected to be made on Tuesday, with reports from the Wall Street Journal suggesting a potential quadrupling of levies on electric vehicles.
