U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that some tariff reductions on Chinese imports may be warranted, but such cuts are not a "panacea" for easing high inflation.
Yellen told a U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee hearing that the Biden administration was examining how to reconfigure some of the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by former president Donald Trump to be "more strategic" to address China's trade abuses.
"I want to make clear I honestly don't think tariff policy is a panacea with respect to inflation," Yellen said in response to a question on tariffs. "Goods account for only a third of consumption and it's not clear exactly what the incidence and pass through would be" from tariff cuts to consumers.
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