Yellen believes China’s response to possible US tariff measures is quite possible

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday the United States could see a major backlash from China following any U.S. tariff change, with new tariffs expected to be announced this week in some sectors.

“President Biden believes that everything we do should be about solving our problems, not generalizing, and we hope we don’t see a significant backlash from China. But that possibility always exists,” Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Yellen’s comments came before US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday what the new tariffs are expected to be, which will include a significant increase in fees on electric vehicles.

The tariffs will also affect semiconductors, solar equipment and medical products, sources told Reuters last week.

Asked whether the United States wants a trade war with China, Yellen said: “We are working to stabilize our economic relationship. We don’t want to separate ourselves economically from China, but we believe the playing field should be level and China is part of that.” unfair, like huge subsidies.”

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Andrea Shalal; Editing in Spanish by Javier Lopez de Lleida)