Yellen: We Need Tariffs to Protect 'Stimulus' from 'Inflation Reduction Act'

During an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen commented on President Joe Biden's reported forthcoming announcement of increased tariffs on China by stating that the move is being made because President Joe Biden wants to protect “the stimulus that's being provided through the Inflation Reduction Act” to support certain industries.

Yellen stated, “The President believes that it's critically important for the United States to have a role and a presence in strategic industries like semiconductors and like clean energy that are going to be the foundation of good jobs and national security in the decades ahead. He believes it's unacceptable, as I do, to be completely dependent on China in these areas. And he wants to make sure, given that China is really not playing by the rules, in the sense they have enormous subsidies in critical areas of advanced manufacturing [that have] resulted in overcapacity, he wants to make sure that the stimulus that's being provided through the Inflation Reduction Act to support these industries — and these are industries that are creating good manufacturing jobs in parts of the country that have been overlooked or have suffered from de-industrialization in the past — the President wants to make sure that he protects these investments. And I don't want to get ahead of the 301 review on tariffs, but this is a commitment that President Biden has made. And I agree with it. I was in China just a couple of weeks ago and made clear that we would not allow Chinese overcapacity to harm our emerging industries.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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