David Shepherdson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday proposed banning Chinese manufacturers from setting up factories in countries such as Mexico, Vietnam and Malaysia to circumvent tariffs.
Rubio accused Chinese manufacturers of shifting production to other countries where U.S. tariffs are lower, allowing them to “evade tariffs and flood the U.S. market with cheaper products.” A House committee raised concerns last week that Chinese auto parts companies may be trying to evade tariffs.
Rubio proposed a bill in March that would impose high tariffs on vehicles produced by Chinese automakers in other countries, including Mexico.
Biden administration officials have also expressed concern about Chinese companies seeking to build factories to avoid the tariffs. A U.S. manufacturing advocacy group warned in February that imports of cars made by Chinese automakers from Mexico “could be an extinction-level event for the U.S. auto industry.”
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, the Office of the United States Trade Representative finalized significant tariff increases on Chinese imports, including a 100% tariff on electric vehicles, to protect strategic industries from China’s government-sponsored industrial practices.
The move marks the end of more than two years of reviewing tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump and leaves largely unchanged the top tariff increases announced by President Joe Biden in May.
The Biden administration also maintained tariffs of 7.5% to 25% imposed by Trump on $300 billion worth of Chinese products, ranging from toys and T-shirts to internet routers and industrial machinery.
The United States and Mexico in July announced new measures to combat evasion of U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs by China and other countries that ship products through Mexico, implementing North American “melt and pour” standards for steel.
(Reporting by David Shepherdson and Deepa Babington Editing by