‘What Do You Say To Critics…?’: Reporter Grills Tai After Putting High Tariffs On Chinese EVs

7 months ago

During a White House press briefing on Tuesday, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai was asked about Trump-era tariffs and criticisms about putting high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles .

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Transcript

00:00 Thank you.

00:01 Thank you, Ambassador Tai.

00:02 I know that these new tariffs are seen as more targeted and strategic, but the administration

00:06 has chosen to keep in place those Trump-era tariffs on some $300 billion worth of goods,

00:10 which Biden himself had said in 2019 that Americans are paying for.

00:15 So why make that decision to keep it in place?

00:17 And aren't you concerned that it's going to keep prices elevated?

00:21 So first of all, let me say a couple things.

00:23 In terms of the price that Americans paid for in the previous era, some of that – maybe

00:29 a lot of it – was about the chaos and unpredictability that it created and the escalation that resulted.

00:37 Secondly, I think what – I'm a trade lawyer by training, and at USTR we are deep into

00:44 the technical issues.

00:46 The Section 301-based review that we undertook required us to look at a couple questions.

00:52 One of them was the effect of the practices on our economy.

00:56 And there you have our response, which is a targeted, strategic response that is meant

01:01 to work together with the investments that we're making.

01:04 The other aspect that we had to look at was the effect of the tariffs on changing China's

01:10 behavior with respect to the IPR abuses and the forced tech transfer.

01:15 There, the findings in my report, which you can find on the USTR website right here – it's

01:21 a serious report – is that not only have we not seen the problematic practices subside,

01:27 in some areas we have seen them get worse.

01:31 And in that light, there is actually no reason for us, no justification to relieving the

01:38 tariff burdens on the trade with Beijing.

01:40 And just quickly, what do you say to critics who say that by putting these high tariffs

01:45 on Chinese EVs you're leaving American consumers with fewer options, more expensive cars, as

01:50 China is very far ahead in creating very cheap EV cars?

01:53 I think what you have to do is remember and revisit the story and the show that we have

01:59 been a part of for the last several decades, which is as you allow China to dominate the

02:06 supply and the production in these industries, your choice is actually made for you.

02:12 You have fewer choices.

02:13 And it lays our entire economy, from consumers and workers all the way up to our government,

02:20 susceptible to the kinds of coercion that we've seen from a government who was willing

02:25 to weaponize the dependencies that it has created when a partner does something that

02:31 it does not like politically.

02:34 On Mexico, you said stay tuned.

02:37 Are you saying that there could be some changes to the USMCA rules or to the law that would

02:43 allow the US to apply tariffs on goods from China that originate in Mexico or other third

02:49 countries?

02:50 What I'm saying is the fact pattern that's developing is one that is of serious concern

02:56 to us and that at USTR we are looking at all of our tools to see how we can address the

03:01 problem.

03:02 Is it going to be from Mexico or from other third countries as well?

03:04 I think just the general fact pattern.

03:05 Is there anything else you can say to elaborate on the problem?

03:08 Stay tuned.

‘What Do You Say To Critics…?’: Reporter Grills Tai After Putting High Tariffs On Chinese EVs

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