WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Trade

Representative's office on Wednesday said some of the steep

tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including

electric vehicle batteries, computer chips and medical products

will take effect on August 1 after a 30-day comment period ends.

President Joe Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his

Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others,

including a quadrupling of EV duties to over 100% and doubling

the duties on semiconductor tariffs to 50%.

The new measures affect $18 billion in imported Chinese

goods including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric

vehicles, critical minerals, solar cells and cranes, the White

House said. The EV figure, while headline-grabbing, may have

more political than practical impact in the U.S., which imports

very few Chinese EVs.

The United States imported $427 billion in goods from China

in 2023 and exported $148 billion to the world's No. 2 economy,

according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a trade gap that has

persisted for decades and become an ever more sensitive subject

in Washington.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has said the revised

tariffs were justified because China was stealing U.S.

intellectual property. But Tai has also recommended tariff

exclusions for hundreds of industrial machinery import

categories from China, including solar product manufacturing

equipment.

Ahead of Biden's expected action,

China denounced the plan

and vowed "resolute measures" to protect its interests.

China has said the tariff measures are counter-productive and

inflict harm on the U.S. and global economy.