President Joe Biden will address union members in crucial Pennsylvania on Wednesday and propose increasing Chinese steel and aluminum tariffs.
Biden, who will speak at the United Steel Workers headquarters, is on a three-day economic tour of the state while his opponent, former President Donald Trump, faces jury selection in New York on charges he falsified business records to cover up an alleged affair with an adult film star.
The Biden administration claims China is overproducing items to sell to the U.S., lowering costs and damaging the economy by forcing higher-quality U.S. products to compete with cheap imports.
Biden also wants his government to engage with Mexico to stop China from evading tariffs on Mexican steel and aluminum. China's shipbuilding, maritime, and logistics trade practices are also under examination by the trade representative's office.
Critics say higher tariffs will raise prices and inflation. China calls the overcapacity claim “groundless” and accuses the U.S. of preventing global competitiveness.
Trump put taxes on washing machines, solar panels, steel, aluminum, and billions of dollars in Chinese imports. The Tax Foundation, a neutral, nonprofit tax policy body, estimated that the new levies raised taxes by $80 billion annually. Biden preserved most Trump China tariffs.
The campaign follows the White House's controversial resistance to Nippon Steel's purchase of U.S. Steel. Union members and Biden, who walked a picket line with the United Auto Workers last year and received the endorsement of the United Steel Workers, are opposing the agreement, which shareholders approved.
The White House thinks Pennsylvania blue-collar voters would support more tariffs on China. Biden has stood up for union members and China, according to Wilkes-Barre retired steelworker Joe Padavan, who doesn't blame him for high inflation or rising costs.
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