(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden’s administration this week is finalizing tariffs that he proposed four months ago on billions of dollars in Chinese goods, a top official said, a signal that the increases may take affect before the end of September.
The products singled out in May for higher tariffs because of accusations of intellectual property theft include electric vehicles, semiconductors and critical minerals.
In speaking with reporters to explain separate proposed changes intended to close a customs loophole on low-value shipments that come largely from China, Navtej Dhillon, deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, said that the tariff increases foreshadowed in May are “being finalized this week,” without elaborating on the timing.
Earlier: USTR Set to Formally Approve China Tariffs Soon
The office of the US Trade Representative said at the end of August that it would formally approve the tariff increases in the coming days, clearing the way for them to go into effect two weeks after that step.
The USTR move — considered a formality — had been repeatedly put off, delaying the date the duties begin. The determination will mark the culmination of a multi-year review of so-called Section 301 tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in 2018.
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