Harris Is Going After Trump’s Tariff Proposals. Dems Messaging on Biden’s Policy Is Less Clear-Cut.

New Biden administration tariff hikes take effect Friday, including increasing rates for electric vehicles to 100% and battery parts to 25%.

Shipping containers at the Port of Savannah in Georgia.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has previously drawn distinctions between “strategic” and “extreme” tariffs. Stephen B. Morton/AP

Kamala Harris is trying to draw a distinction from Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff campaign proposals, even as new Biden administration tariff hikes take effect this week, expanding on some former Trump-era policies.

Harris and her campaign have been slamming Trump’s new tariff plans, like his most recent proposal to implement a 200% tariff on John Deere if the company moves manufacturing to Mexico.

“You don’t just throw around the idea of just tariffs across the board, and that’s part of the problem with Donald Trump,” Harris said on MSNBC this week, after unveiling her campaign’s economic platform. “He’s just not very serious about how he thinks about some of these issues.”