There's still no word from the Biden administration regarding the China tariffs.  Biden and his profoundly inept team of leftist ideologues have remained painfully silent.  But I think we all know what's bound to happen in the coming weeks: Biden will likely eliminate tariffs on an inconsequential portion of Chinese imports.  This should placate both sides of the trade issue in his Cabinet.  The free-trade dogmatists will be happy that at least some of the tariffs were slashed, while the defenders of the Trump-era tariffs will take comfort in knowing that Biden didn't pursue a blanket tariff reduction in the name of trade liberalization.

I would wager that no one in the president's Cabinet actually believes that rolling back the Trump tariffs would remedy inflation woes in any meaningful way.  AEI trade policy specialist Derek Scissors said the following about the potential tariff cuts on Yahoo Finance last week: "Really, none of this matters very much to inflation.  Current inflation is highway sign inflation: it's gas, food, lodging.  We don't import any of that from China."  If Biden truly cared about inflation, he would urge Democrats in Congress to be more fiscally conservative.  That, of course, is never going to happen.  Instead, he will blame the Trump tariffs.  Biden, as we all know, can do no wrong! 

Former trade representative Robert Lighthizer — who is well known for his criticisms of trade liberalization — recently wrote a persuasive op-ed in the Wall Street Journal wherein he urged Biden's team to keep the Trump tariffs: "Chinese imports in total make up only 2% of goods included in the consumer-price index and exclude key products like energy and food. ... While eliminating these tariffs will do almost nothing to ease inflation, it would be a substantial concession to Beijing."  As usual, Lighthizer is spot on. 

The most concerning thing about Biden's trade philosophy: he doesn't have one.  Biden is not a man with steadfast convictions; he is a master capitulator.  Biden isn't a free trader or a protectionist; he is a mushy vacillator.  Such a convictionless and lackluster trade policy will ultimately contribute to the president's abysmal approval ratings.

Image: PxHere.