Washington, D.C. (May 15, 2024): President Biden announced new tariffs on Chinese imports of aluminum, steel, semiconductors, batteries, and electric vehicles in an effort to protect investments in those domestic industries. The President did not address the required four-year review on the effectiveness of the China tariffs in achieving U.S. policy objectives and the re-opening of a more transparent exclusion process as recommended by the General Accountability Office.
The White House release outlined tariff increases to 25 percent beginning in 2024 for battery parts (non-lithium ion), lithium-ion EV batteries, ship-to-shore cranes, critical minerals, and steel & aluminum; electric vehicle tariffs will rise to 100 percent and solar cells to 50 percent. Tariffs on semiconductors will increase to 50 percent in 2025 and in 2026, tariffs on permanent magnets, natural graphite, and lithium-ion non-EV batteries will grow to 25 percent.
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will issue a notice on the comment process and an exclusion process for machinery used in domestic manufacturing. USTR referenced the required four-year review on the effectiveness of tariffs in the announcement and relied on some of the findings to propose higher tariffs on certain products, but provided no timeline for the release of the report and re-opening a new transparent exclusion process.
SFIA will continue pressing USTR to release the report and re-open a new fair and transparent exclusion process. SFIA will offer assistance to any companies seeking help with Exclusion petitions.
For more information or for questions, please contact Bill Sells, SVP, Government & Public Affairs, at [email protected].