Rolling Back Tariffs Would Help Tame Inflation
The protectionist policy Biden inherited from Trump hasn’t worked — and it’s raising the cost of living.
It’s all about the cost of living.
Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s administration has been discussing changes to US tariffs on China for weeks. Officials are concerned that high import prices are adding to inflation, and they’re looking for remedies. People familiar with the discussions say a decision will come soon — and that the result will be tweaks to the measures put in place by Donald Trump’s administration, not a comprehensive effort to roll back US import restrictions on China and other countries.
That would be disappointing. A timid move on trade is better than nothing, but falls short of what the country needs.