While the tariffs were largely welcomed, some industry groups and observers reiterated that they still represented only one aspect of a necessary and multi-faceted approach to protect US industries against China’s manufacturing overcapacity.
“The US needs a comprehensive and coordinated response, and tariffs are a powerful but blunt instrument in a complex situation,” Avery Ash, the executive director of SAFE’s Coalition for Reimagined Mobility, said in a statement May 14.
SAFE is a bipartisan advocacy group that lobbies for transportation, energy and supply chain policies linked to the economic and national security of the US.
“Addressing China’s unfair trade practices and market manipulation is essential defense, but must be coupled with effective offense- in this case a clear national commitment to and strategy for the US to double down on the development and deployment of market-defining technologies in the automotive sector,” Ash added.
Abigail Hunter, SAFE’s executive director for its Center for Critical Minerals Strategy, said unilateral tariffs alone would not address China’s strategic industrial overcapacity.
“Common border tariffs through a multilateral coordination with allies will be necessary to prevent dumping, and to block Chinese exports from causing global price collapses,” she added.
Read the full story: “Biden tariff hike on Chinese aluminum shows commitment to US industry” (May 14, 2024)
