US government struggles to reduce inflation
The US government is considering removing some tariffs on China and a possible pause on the federal gas tax as it struggles to fight rising gasoline prices and inflation, Washington officials said.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said some tariffs imposed on China by the administration of former President Donald Trump have “no strategic purpose”, and added that President Joe Biden is reviewing them to try to reduce inflation.
Another Biden administration official, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, added that the president could also lift the federal gas tax as an option to lower prices.
The officials’ comments come as the Biden administration struggles to deal with inflation and record gas prices.
Cleveland Federal Reserve Chair Loretta Mester said it would take two years for inflation to fall to the central bank’s 2% target, “falling” gradually.
Yellen, speaking to ABC News, said the government was reviewing its tariff policy for China, but did not name details and declined to say when there might be a decision.
Unfair practices
“We all recognize that China engages in a number of unfair trade practices, which are important to deal with, but among the tariffs we have inherited, some have no strategic purpose and increase the cost to consumers,” she added.
Yellen did not list specific tariffs and declined to say when the Biden administration might make a decision on the matter.
Biden said in 2018 and 2019 that he was considering lifting some tariffs imposed by Trump on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods, amid a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
