Biden sets up post-election ‘fight’ as he drags out China tariffs decision

President Joe Biden is reportedly holding back a decision on whether to lift tariffs on goods from China, which are supported by populist Republicans and some Democrats, ahead of a high-stakes election.

Those in favor of keeping the Trump-era tariffs in place say they have been successful in moving supply chains out of China, with the issue becoming a flashpoint in the race for control of Congress.

In the battleground state of Ohio, where Biden traveled Friday, Rep. Tim Ryan (D) has urged the president to keep the tariffs in place. Ryan, who is running for the state’s Senate seat, has made clear his view that trade with China hurts jobs in the United States.

“China. It’s definitely China,” Ryan said in his first campaign ad. “One word: China. It is us vs. China.”

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It is a message reiterated in recent weeks by a fellow Ohio lawmaker facing a tight race for reelection.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D), long an emphatic Biden supporter, has lately criticized the president, stating in a television advertisement that she’s been “fighting back” against him while “working with Republican Rob Portman” to protect the state’s jobs.

“Biden’s been letting Ohio solar manufacturers be undercut by China,” Kaptur said.

The White House has been reviewing whether to lift tariffs on Chinese goods for months, with Biden telling reporters in May that rising consumer goods prices were being weighed in the decision process.

“We’re looking at what would have the most positive impacts,” Biden said at the time.

Trump imposed tariffs on some $370 billion worth of Chinese goods under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, with the first wave in July 2018 intended to pressure China to halt what officials described as the use of unfair trade practices and theft of U.S. intellectual property.

The issue has divided his administration and Democrats, with some officials pitching a tariff rollback as a response to inflation. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told the Wall Street Journal last month that Biden was still weighing his options.

Beijing has railed against the tariffs, and Biden faces other challenges related to China as tensions flare over Taiwan. Biden is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year when both leaders attend the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

But as the November election nears, the president appears to be heeding the message from lawmakers and holding back.

Biden is delaying a decision on whether to remove any Trump-era tariffs on imported Chinese goods while the administration considers options for relief for businesses that say a particular tariff is causing harm to U.S. jobs or competitiveness, according to Bloomberg.

The president has already signed off on a process to grant tariffs exclusions on manufacturing materials but has not made a final decision on whether to implement it, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

“After the election, it will be a fight,” one industry source told the Washington Examiner of the divide over whether to keep the measures in place. Tariff issues also divided the Trump administration.

On Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai suggested that the tariffs could stay in place until Beijing adopts a more market-oriented economy.

The Biden administration has allowed tariffs to continue on hundreds of billions of dollars of imported Chinese goods as it continues to review the duties. The U.S. trade representative said it received requests to maintain them.

Bipartisan senators led by Rob Portman (R-OH) have also called on Biden not to lift the tariffs and urged the president to enforce a trade deal with China.

China has failed to meet its purchase commitments under the Phase One trade deal, according to an analysis by the Peterson Institute.

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Asked during a White House press briefing this week whether the administration could lift certain tariffs, Raimondo declined to comment.

The commerce secretary also declined a question on whether a tariff rollback could occur before the midterm elections.

“I don’t have anything else to say,” Raimondo responded.