WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today announced tariff increases under Section 301 for imports from the People’s Republic of China of certain tungsten products, wafers, and polysilicon. The rates for solar wafers and polysilicon will increase to 50 percent, and the rates for certain tungsten products will increase to 25 percent. These tariff increases will take effect on January 1, 2025.
“The tariff increases announced today will further blunt the harmful policies and practices by the People’s Republic of China. These actions will complement the domestic investments made under the Biden-Harris Administration to promote a clean energy economy, while increasing the resilience of critical supply chains,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai.
The federal notice for today’s announcement can be found here.
Background
The tariff increases announced today had been proposed as part of the statutory review of the tariff actions in the Section 301 investigation of the People’s Republic of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. These modifications conclude the statutory review. In the USTR Report on the statutory review, the U.S. Trade Representative found that, while the PRC had changed some specific unfair measures, the PRC’s harmful forced technology transfer practices – in particular its cyber theft and industrial espionage – have continued, and in some instances, worsened. The findings of the four-year review can be found on USTR’s website.
In light of those findings, Ambassador Tai modified the Section 301 tariff actions by targeting strategic sectors for tariff increases, improving the effectiveness of the tariff actions in achieving the objectives of the investigation, while promoting American jobs and investments. For example, Ambassador Tai increased tariffs (with various effective dates) on electric vehicles, syringes and needles, and medical gloves (100 percent); semiconductors, solar cells, and facemasks (50 percent); and steel and aluminum products, certain critical minerals, and others (25 percent). More details on the specific products, tariff rates, and effective dates can be found on USTR’s website.
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