THE Biden administration in the United States is discussing raising tariffs on some Chinese goods, including electric vehicles (EVs), The Wall Street Journal said late Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

While officials in the Biden administration have largely left in place Trump-era tariffs on around US$300 billion of Chinese goods, the White House and other U.S. agencies are debating the levies again, the people said, with an eye on completing a review of the tariffs early in the new year.

Chinese cars face a 25% levy imposed during the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump and extended by the Biden administration.

China has become a global powerhouse in electric cars, with BloombergNEF estimating that the country’s expected to account for 60% of the world’s 14.1 million new passenger electric car sales in 2023. That dominance has led to tension elsewhere, most prominently in Europe, which in September launched a probe into Chinese EVs.

The EV landscape in Europe is different than in the United States, where tariffs are already high enough to deter competition from China. China exported nearly 48,000 electric cars to North America as of October this year, compared with the more than 564,000 vehicles it sent to Western Europe.

Chinese electric vehicles are currently subject to a 25% levy in the United States, limiting their ability to enter the market.

Shenzhen-based BYD Co., for example, doesn’t retail its passenger vehicles in North America, despite being on the cusp of overtaking Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. as the world’s biggest seller of electric cars.

Raising those EV tariffs would therefore likely have little immediate impact on U.S. consumers, according to the The Wall Street Journal report.

Even so, there has been increased political pressure in recent weeks in the United States to ramp up tariffs against China. A bipartisan group of lawmakers earlier this month recommended raising tariffs on goods from China and further restricting investment into the country.

The United States is also gearing up for a presidential election next year, which may further fuel political tensions involving China.

“Ahead of a presidential election, no candidate of any party loses votes by sounding tough on China trade,” said Robert Carnell, regional head of research for Asia-Pacific at ING Groep NV. (SD-Agencies)