Why China Is Investigating US Green Tariffs Ahead of Trump’s Visit
After years of tariffs on Chinese clean technology, experts say Beijing’s move is meant to send a signal to the US.
An employee on a production line for the Polestar 4 in Ningbo, China.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergBeijing launched a sweeping investigation into US efforts to block imports of Chinese clean technology on Friday. China’s Ministry of Commerce announced the probe into “trade barriers on green products” alongside a separate trade investigation in the lead-up to an expected visit to Beijing by President Donald Trump in May.
By kicking off its investigation — itself a response to US probes — China is preparing a legal basis for retaliation against any new US duties after the majority of Trump’s previous tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court, experts said. The trade in green goods is “an obvious target,” said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, because the US has piled tariffs and other restrictions on Chinese clean-technology products over more than a decade.