WHERE’S HUNTER, FAT? Joe Biden Says China’s EV Dominance Is a Problem. His Son Hunter Helped Beijing Gain a Foothold in the Industry.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday imposed sweeping tariffs on China’s aluminum and electric vehicle sectors, vowing to stop Beijing’s effort to “dominate these industries.” His son, Hunter Biden, brokered deals that helped China gain a foothold in those sectors while his father was vice president.
Hunter Biden was a founding board member of the Beijing-based BHR Partners and served on the company’s board when the firm brokered a Chinese state-owned firm’s purchase of a Congolese cobalt mine in 2016. China’s acquisition of the mine, which had been owned by an American company, gave Beijing a crucial supply of raw materials used to make batteries for electric cars. That same year, BHR Partners bought and sold a stake in Chinese electric vehicle battery maker CATL, the New York Timesreported.
Previously unreported emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop show that BHR Partners tried to broker a deal in 2015 between the American subsidiary of Chinese company Zhongwang and American aluminum maker Aleris. Zhongwang said the $2.3 billion deal would “strengthen Zhongwang’s leadership in [the] aluminum extrusion industry.” The Trump and Biden Justice Departments have since indicted Zhongwang and its owner for a scheme to evade tariffs levied against Chinese aluminum makers.
Hunter Biden’s work with BHR could prove awkward for his father, who saidTuesday he is “determined to ensure America,” not China, “leads the world” in the electric vehicle, aluminum, steel, and semiconductor industries. To reach that goal, Biden imposed a 25 percent tariff on Chinese aluminum and 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Oh, and when it comes to tariffs on Chinese industry, the(p)resident is going John Kerry’s flipflop on the Iraq War one better— Sundown Joe is now forgainst it, for it!
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he would remove Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports from China, which are taxes on U.S. consumers and companies. An aide later asserted the former vice president “would reevaluate the tariffs upon taking office.” A Gallup poll in February 2020 detected positive views of Americans toward international trade, with 79% viewing trade as “an opportunity for economic growth,” while only 18% considered trade a “threat.” (Note: The article has been updated to reflect the Biden aide’s statement.)
—“Biden Says He Will End Trump’s Tariffs On Chinese-Made Goods, Aide Walks Back Statement,” Forbes, August 6th, 2020.