US President Joe Biden is expected to announce new tariffs on China next week. The tariffs will target strategic sectors such as electric vehicles, semiconductors, and solar equipment. 

The announcement is expected to maintain existing levies and may happen as soon as Tuesday. However, it could be pushed back. 

The US Trade Representative’s office has recommended the tariffs to the White House, but a final announcement was delayed while the package was debated. 

The administration is focusing on areas of interest in strategic, competitive, and national security areas. 

Biden aims to contrast his approach with that of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who proposed across-the-board tariffs. 

The White House sees this as too blunt and prone to spark inflation. Biden has said he does not want a trade war with China, even as he believes that the countries have entered a new paradigm of competition. 

The measures may invite retaliation from China, as happened with Trump’s imposition of tariffs during his presidency. 

In 2022, Biden launched a review of the Trump-era policy under Section 301 of the US trade law. Last month, he called for higher US tariffs on Chinese metal products. 

However, the targeted products were estimated to be worth over USD 1 billion of steel and aluminium products. 

Biden also announced an investigation into Chinese trade practices across the shipbuilding, maritime, and logistics sectors, which could lead to more tariffs. 

The Biden administration has also been pressuring Mexico to prohibit China from selling its metal products to the US indirectly. 

To this, China has said that the tariff measures are counterproductive and harm the US and the global economy.