The label of a cowboy hat reads "Made in China" at an Amazon.com merchant's office in Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Thursday, June 20, 2019. Amazon.com Inc. merchants around the world are scrambling to navigate an unpredictable trade war that's upending their proven business model of buying inexpensive goods in China and selling them at a markup in the U.S. Photographer: Chona kasinger/Bloomberg The offshore yuan rose as much as 0.3% to 6.6807 per dollar, the strongest in a week, after the report. The Australian dollar extended gains following the report, climbing 1% versus the US dollar to 0.6884. The New Zealand dollar tracked the Aussie higher, rising 0.9% to 0.6250.
Biden’s administration is weighing what to do about former President Donald Trump’s tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of imports from China, which is both its biggest trading partner and most powerful competitor. While some businesses have benefited from protection from Chinese imports, those that use the goods as inputs in areas including manufacturing have been hurt by the price rises.
Read more: Biden Says He’ll Talk to Xi ‘Soon,’ Weighing Tariff Easing
Biden said last month he’ll talk to his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping “soon” and he was “in the process of making up my mind” regarding the tariffs. US officials are working to set up a possible call this summer as tensions run high between the world’s two biggest economies, including on Taiwan, Ukraine and human rights.
Officials in the Biden administration appear to be divided over the tariffs. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai told a Senate hearing recently that the tariffs are a “significant piece of leverage.” Those comments contrast with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said in June that the tariffs have hurt American consumers and businesses and are contributing to the fastest inflation in 40 years.