Biden undecided on China tariffs ahead of Xi call: W.House

President Joe Biden has still not decided whether to end some trade tariffs against China before calling his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this week, a senior official said Tuesday.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration believes tariffs imposed during a trade war under former President Donald Trump are not working, but Biden has yet to agree on a next step.

“He wants a review of current tariffs to make sure they are consistent with our strategic economic priorities, that they are in our best national interest and frankly in the best interest of the American people, but he hasn’t made any decision,” Kirby told reporters.

“I don’t have a decision to speak to regarding the President’s tariffs. He’s working this out with his team,” Kirby added.

But the senior official made it clear that Biden is not happy with tariffs, which imposed 25 percent tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese imports in retaliation for Beijing’s routinely unfair trade practices.

“We believe … that the tariffs introduced by his predecessor were poorly designed. We believe they have increased costs for American families and small businesses and ranchers. And that’s actually without going against some of China’s harmful trade practices,” Kirby said.

“So we thought the previous administration’s approach to tariffs was a shabby deal.”

The call, expected this week but not yet finally scheduled, will be the fifth between Xi and Biden since the Democrat took office in 2021.

Describing the US-China relationship as “one of the most consequential bilateral ties in the world,” Kirby said Biden and Xi “cover everything from tensions over Taiwan to the war in Ukraine, as well as how we can make the competition between us better.” manage two nations, certainly in the economic field.”

“There’s a big focus on security challenges and tensions, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region — in terms of Taiwan, in terms of territorial claims in the South and East China Seas, but there’s also economic competition.”

One of the main goals of the call will be broadly what Kirby Biden’s China called “relationships.”

“He wants to ensure that the lines of communication with President Xi on all issues, whether it’s again issues we agree on or issues we have significant difficulty on — that they still pick up the phone and talk to them openly,” Kirby said.

One nuisance in the relationship that is likely to surface is an alleged plan by House Speaker Biden-ally Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan.

Second in line to succeed the US presidency, the speaker requires a significant security detail when traveling abroad, and reports of her trip have infuriated Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan.

Kirby said he wanted to “emphasize that the announcer has not announced a trip.”