U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday she would not rule out any measures on China’s green energy exports, including potential tariffs.
“I’m not ruling anything out at this point. We need to put everything on the table. We want to work with the Chinese to see if we can find a solution,” she told CNBC’s Sarah Eisen in an interview. Asked whether Washington might impose tariffs if China does not adjust its industrial incentives.
Yellen said: “What I am considering is not export restrictions, but some changes in macroeconomic policies and reducing subsidies to businesses, especially subsidies to local governments.”
Nonetheless, she stressed the need to create a level playing field in green technology.
She added: “We just want to make sure we don’t get pushed out of the industry and that our companies and workers have opportunities in these industries, which are going to be important industries for us in the future.”
Yellen is currently in Beijing and will leave China on Tuesday. She arrived in Guangzhou last Thursday to connect with Chinese officials as economic ties between the two countries continue to be tense.
The United States is increasingly concerned about China’s oversupply of subsidized clean energy products, such as solar energy, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries, which can be exported to international markets at discounted prices, which the White House says harms China’s competitiveness. Domestic enterprises. U.S. allies including Japan and Europe are also anxious about Washington because of a glut of cheap Chinese products, such as solar panelshas flooded their market.
“It’s great for Chinese companies to export in this industry, to develop it. But some of the techniques they use – heavily subsidizing their companies and then supporting them even if they lose money… that’s unacceptable to China. “The United States feels the same way, and many of our allies feel the same way,” Yellen said.
The finance minister said other countries may also explore the possibility of imposing trade restrictions on China.The EU is currently undertaking a investigation Subsidized Chinese electric cars could be “dumped” into the region, potentially damaging its massive auto industry.
The bloc has so far resisted imposing such measures given its close trading ties with the world’s second-largest economy. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday ahead of a three-day visit to China that he was skeptical about the need to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, a spokesman said, according to Reuters.
China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Monday slammed U.S. and European accusations of oversupply and said the rise of China’s electric vehicle industry was the result of “continuous innovation,” China’s Commerce Ministry said.
Electric vehicles made in China are currently subject to tariffs of up to 27.5% in the United States – a policy implemented by former President Trump out of concerns about unfair trade practices by Beijing.
The Biden administration had previously considered cutting tariffs, but Yellen said there were notified tariffs that could be affected and now they are under review. further interest rate hikes under pressure from Republican lawmakers. China, meanwhile, has called for restrictions on such measures.
“(China) has long said it wants to see cuts,” Yellen said.
Launched by the Ministry of Commerce investigation In March, we discussed whether China’s electric vehicle imports could pose a national security risk, especially given the vast amounts of data that “connected” vehicle technology can collect.
Against this backdrop, there is growing skepticism about the risks Chinese technology poses to U.S. national security. Last month, U.S. lawmakers passed a bill requiring Chinese technology giant ByteDance to divest its popular social media app TikTok in the U.S. or face an effective ban.
Asked whether she thought China would allow TikTok’s assets to be sold to U.S. companies or U.S. investors, Yellen said she didn’t want to “get ahead of the curve” on developments.
“This is an important and profitable company, and I think they’re worried that they’re going to be forced to leave the United States,” she said.
Washington has also proposed cracking down on other Chinese companies deemed to be contrary to U.S. geopolitical and strategic interests. In particular, the Biden administration has said it will impose sanctions on Chinese entities found to be assisting Russian forces and their war operations in Ukraine.
“We have made it clear that we cannot accept China supporting Russia militarily. That does not mean that China cannot have a relationship with Russia,” Yellen said.
“China and Russia have a lot of trade, and most of it is fine, but anything that involves militarily aiding Russia in its brutal war in Ukraine is unacceptable to us, and we have the ability to impose sanctions.”
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