(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is expected to announce new tariffs on Chinese tech Tuesday during an address from the White House Rose Garden.
Biden is taking a page from the book of his predecessor, who was famously tough on China.
The White House says it’s taking action to protect American workers and businesses from what the administration calls China’s unfair trade practices.
The move could help Biden politically.
Biden is set to quadruple penalties on electric vehicles from China to 100%.
The administration says Biden’s vision is to ensure the future of the auto industry will be made in America by American workers.
This could help Biden in states like Michigan — a major auto hub where Biden could use a leg up. He’s polling behind Trump and facing a challenge with uncommitted voters in the state protesting Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
On the campaign trail in Michigan this month, Trump hit Biden on EV’s and China, saying he’d issue tariffs of his own.
“China is building some of the largest auto plants in the world along our border in Mexico and they think that they are going to take those cars and sell them into the U.S. and lose all your jobs in Michigan,” Trump said.
Trump is trying to court auto workers but the United Auto Workers Union already endorsed Biden.
The union said Tuesday it “applauds today’s decisive action from the White House on ensuring that the transition to electric vehicles is a just transition.”
Biden is set to unveil higher tariffs on Chinese electric cars, semiconductors and other goods imported from China to level the playing field.
China is already responding to the move calling it “self-defeating” and against what Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed during the San Francisco summit late last year.