President Biden on Tuesday announced a sharp increase in tariffs on an array of Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, solar cells, semiconductors and advanced batteries, in an effort to protect strategic American industries from a new wave of competitors that he said were unfairly subsidized by Beijing.
The president also officially endorsed maintaining tariffs on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese goods that were put in place by President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Biden criticized those tariffs as taxes on American consumers during his 2020 run for the White House.
Mr. Biden’s moves were the latest trade-war escalation from a president who initially pledged to repeal at least some of the Trump tariffs but now has refused to cede any ground to his rival in a tough-on-China appeal to swing voters in the industrial Midwest and beyond.
They also reflect Mr. Biden’s efforts to build on Mr. Trump’s consensus-defying trade confrontation with China while focusing it on sectors of strategic importance to the United States, like clean energy and semiconductors.
In remarks at the White House, Mr. Biden said his administration was “combining investments in America with tariffs that are strategic and targeted.”
Standing before a crowd that included the leaders of several labor unions and representatives from steel, aluminum and other manufacturers, Mr. Biden contrasted his approach with that of Mr. Trump.