The Great Depression Is Rehearsing in the United States

The mounting national debt, decreased industrial production, inescapable inflation, the rapid and reckless expansion of the U.S. stock market, either Republic or Democratic protectionism as mad as a hatter, are fermenting a crisis and the great depression.

The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis in modern history, lasting from 1929 until the beginning of World War II in 1939. The causes of the Great Depression included slowing consumer demand, mounting consumer debt, decreased industrial production and the rapid and reckless expansion of the U.S. stock market.

The Smoot-Hawley Act increased tariffs on foreign imports to the U.S. by about 20%. At least 25 countries responded by increasing their own tariffs on American goods. Global trade plummeted, contributing to the ill effects of the Great Depression.

President Biden delivers remarks at United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh — 4/17/2024

Speaking from United Steelworkers headquarters on Wednesday, Biden calls on United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai to “consider tripling” the existing 7.5% tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum through a review of the Section 301 tariff rate, pending the conclusion of a four-year review.

Officials expect the ongoing review to be completed “soon,” and Tai could take action to “(enhance) the effectiveness” of the tariffs based on its findings, a senior official said.

Biden also highlights the Department of Commerce’s efforts to crack down on China’s attempts to “flood the market with cheap products” through anti-dumping and countervailing duties, among other actions.

Trump made tariffs against China a central feature of his global economic strategy, and Biden has largely maintained them, despite external criticism. By calling for a tariff hike he says would protect American workers, Biden also appears to be attempting to insulate himself from Trump’s criticism that he’s weak on China.

A new tariff hike could threaten Biden’s attempts at repairing what has been a tense relationship between the world’s two largest economies. China has denied accusations of overcapacity and claims the US is seeking to stifle competition through protectionist trade policies.

USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai: Standing up to the PRC’s "Unfair Economic Practices" and Fighting for "Fair Competition"

U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Dai Qi said at a hearing on the Biden administration’s 2024 trade agenda held by the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee on April 16 that the United States is prepared to use trade tools, including through new tariff actions against China, to confront China’s non-market policies and practices. She also said her office was "very close to completing" its review of China's tariffs.

Steel, aluminum, solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, and critical minerals—just to name a few.
 
The PRC also uses unfair policies and practices to concentrate production of certain goods in the PRC, which undermines supply chain resilience and harms consumers that, in the long run, are deprived of the innovation and choice that fair competition would produce.
 
As the President said during his State of the Union Address, this Administration will continue to stand up to China’s unfair, non-market policies and practices.  And we are doing so with like-minded partners and allies, as you saw in the Joint Declaration we issued last June with Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

We have seen the PRC create dependencies and vulnerabilities in multiple sectors, harming American workers and businesses and creating real risks for our supply chains.
 
This is why we are taking a serious look at how our existing tools are addressing this problem, including through our four-year review of the China Section 301 tariffs.

美国总统拜登寻求将对华钢铝关税提高至3倍以上

拜登于周三（四月十七日）访问钢铁工人联合会（United Steelworkers）位于匹兹堡的总部，提议将目前7.5%的钢铝平均关税提高至25%。 白宫官员表示，拟议中的更高关税税率将适用于价值超过10亿元的中国进口钢铝。

拜登政府同时在向邻国墨西哥施压，要求禁止中国通过该国间接向美国出售金属产品。与此同时，美国还在对中国在造船、海运和物流领域的贸易行为展开调查，这可能导致征收更多关税。

财政部长耶伦(Janet Yellen)上周访问中国时，对中国补贴正在造成太阳能电池板和电动汽车等清洁能源产品供过于求、超过国内需求表示关切。她担心，过剩产能可能会以人为压低的价格倾销到全球市场，从而可能抑制竞争。

耶伦在接受CNBC采访时表示，如果这些产能过剩的担忧得不到解决，不排除加征新的关税。

中国官员和官方媒体否认了产能过剩的指控，称清洁能源产品的充足供应是“不断创新”的结果，而并非来自政府补贴。

美国贸易代表：“认真考虑”应对中国的各种贸易工具

美国贸易代表戴琪大使4月16日在众议院筹款委员会举行的有关拜登政府2024年贸易议程的听证会上说，美国准备使用包括通过新的对华关税行动等在内的贸易工具来对抗中国的非市场政策与做法。

前总统唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）曾利用1974年贸易法中的301条款，在2018年对价值数千亿美元的中国进口商品加征了关税。而在乔·拜登（Joe Biden）总统上台后，政府已经就是否继续实施这些关税进行了长达四年的审查，目前这项工作已接近尾声。她并表示，她的办公室“非常接近于完成”对中国关税的审核。

戴琪还正在仔细审查由美国五家工会联合提交的调查申请，该申请要求对中国海上物流和造船业中存在的不公平行为、政策和做法发起新的301条款调查。