Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that China is dumping its cheaper clean energy products on the global market, depressing prices and harming green manufacturing in the U.S. Yellen expressed concern about the excess capacity in China, which distorts global prices and affects American firms and workers. She plans to address this issue with Chinese officials during her upcoming visit to China and urge them to take corrective actions. The White House is investing in the clean energy industry domestically with legislation like the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, but China has been investing heavily in clean energy for years, outpacing the rest of the world.
Yellen acknowledged that the U.S. is playing catch-up to China in the energy transition and emphasized the importance of protecting American industries from unfair competition. President Biden has committed to safeguarding industries from the effects of China’s clean energy surplus on global market prices. Despite ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China over trade issues, the Biden administration is working to improve relations with China. President Biden has expressed concerns about Chinese smart cars posing a national security risk due to their connection to U.S. infrastructure when operating on American roads.
The Biden-Xi meeting in November was an attempt to improve relations between the two countries after years of tension, including a tariff war initiated by former President Trump. However, efforts to strengthen U.S.-China relations have faced challenges due to cybersecurity and trade concerns. President Biden has launched an investigation into Chinese smart cars in order to protect national security interests and prevent China from flooding the American market with their vehicles. The Chinese Embassy in Washington has not commented on Yellen’s remarks about China’s clean energy practices affecting global markets.
Yellen’s warning about China’s clean energy dumping highlights the need for the U.S. to address issues of unfair competition and protect its industries from the impacts of China’s surplus. The Biden administration is working to support the domestic clean energy industry with legislative investments. Yellen intends to press Chinese officials on these trade practices during her upcoming visit to China and advocate for corrective actions to address the distortion of global prices caused by China’s excess capacity in clean energy products. The ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China continue to pose challenges to efforts to improve relations between the two countries.
