Biden says White House could drop Trump China tariffs to lower

President Joe Biden said he could drop some of the tariffs imposed against Chinese imports to help control rising consumer prices in the U.S. — just as Wall Street braces for another inflation report north of 8%.

The White House is reviewing the penalties imposed under former President Donald Trump — which raised prices on everything from diapers to clothing and furniture — and could opt to remove them altogether, Biden said in addressing the nation from Washington on Tuesday.

“We’re looking at what would have the most positive impact,” Biden said, adding that removing the tariffs was currently under discussion.

Trump levied a raft of financial penalties on Chinese goods in a long-running tit-for-tat trade war with Beijing in an effort to bolster American-made goods.

The extent to which removing Trump’s taxes on Chinese products would cool inflation is a matter of debate among economists, but many say easing or removing the tariffs altogether is among the few options available to a White House eager to pull every lever available to ease costs.

The president reiterated that a combination of Covid-19 protocols at home and abroad and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has caused prices in the U.S. to jump at their fastest pace since the early 1980s.

“I want every American to know that I am taking inflation very seriously,” Biden said. “The first cause of inflation is a once-in-a-century pandemic. Not only did it shut down our global economy, it threw supply chains and demand completely out of whack.”

“And this year we have a second cause: Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine,” he added, referring to the dramatic rise in oil prices sparked by Moscow’s attack earlier in 2022.

While West Texas crude futures are well off highs of over $130 a barrel seen in March, oil contracts for June delivery were last seen trading around $100, about $30 above where they began the year.

The president noted that the war has also driven up the prices of contracts for key food products such as wheat and corn, which are up 40% and 30%, respectively, in 2022. Russia and Ukraine together supply more than a quarter of the world’s wheat.

Economists say the combination of the pandemic — especially China’s recent, and severe, efforts to curb rising cases there — and the war in Ukraine are both to blame for inflation’s 8.5% rise over the last year through March, the highest reading since 1981. Wall Street is eager to read the Labor Department’s upcoming report on April inflation, which is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

Economists polled by Dow Jones expect that report to show inflation rose 8.1% in the 12 months ending in April.

Biden’s comments the day before the release is the administration’s latest attempt to convince the American public that the White House is exploring all options available to quell rising prices. Dozens of polls have indicated that Americans now believe inflation is the chief…