MAY 22 (Reuters) - The US Trade Representative’s office on Wednesday said some of the steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicle batteries, computer chips and medical products will take effect on August 1.

President Joe Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others, including a quadrupling of EV duties to over 100 per cent and doubling the duties on semiconductor tariffs to 50 per cent.

The Trade Representatives office said a 30-day public comment period will close June 28. They are seeking comments on the effects of the proposed tariff hike on the US economy, including consumers.

The US Trade Representative said the proposed Chinese tariff hikes "includes products targeted by China for dominance, or are products in sectors where the United States has recently made significant investments.”

The new measures affect US$18 billion in imported Chinese goods including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, critical minerals, solar cells and cranes, the White House said. The EV figure, while headline-grabbing, may have more political than practical impact in the US, which imports very few Chinese EVs.

For medical products, public comment is being sought on whether the tariffs on face masks, medical gloves, syringes, and needles need to be higher than proposed.

The United States imported US$427 billion in goods from China in 2023 and exported US$148 billion to the world’s No. 2 economy, according to the US Census Bureau, a trade gap that has persisted for decades and become an ever more sensitive subject in Washington.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has said the revised tariffs were justified because China was stealing US intellectual property. But Tai has also recommended tariff exclusions for hundreds of industrial machinery import categories from China, including solar product manufacturing equipment.

Ahead of Biden’s expected action, China denounced the plan and vowed "resolute measures” to protect its interests. China has said the tariff measures are counter-productive and inflict harm on the US and global economy.

USTR said it would provide details on how companies could apply for machinery exclusions from the tariffs in a separate notice. But it said that any exclusions granted would be backdated to start on Wednesday and end on May 31, 2025. — Reuters