US President Biden is calling on his Trade Representative to hike the tariffs applied to steel and aluminum imports from China as he attempts to improve his standing and play to the crowd in the key election battleground state of Pennsylvania before visiting the headquarters of the United Steelworkers in Pittsburgh next Wednesday.

Biden is seeking to raise the 7.5% average tariff on steel and aluminum currently in place to 22.5% in an effort to emphasize his administration’s recent warnings about China’s trade practices are not mere threats.

On a visit to China last week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed concerns that subsidies from Beijing were leading to a level of overproduction of clean energy products that is much higher than domestic demand. The US believes that the “overproduced” solar panels and EVs could be dumped onto global markets at artificially low prices, potentially harming competition.

During a recent interview, Yellen said that the threat of higher tariffs would remain on the table as long as overcapacity is not being addressed. Beijing, along with Chinese media both refute claims of overproduction, instead pointing to “continuing innovations” as the reason behind the excess of clean energy products – and not government subsidies.

So, as China dismisses concerns about overcapacity, the US administration is hardening its approach to what it sees as a risk to global trade.

“China’s policy-driven overcapacity poses a serious risk to the future of the American steel and aluminum industry,” National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard said, adding that “China cannot export its way to recovery. China is simply too big to play by its own rules.”

Biden’s push to increase tariffs comes as he balances election-year politics with an unstable geopolitical landscape and serious concerns about inflation and the state of the US economy.

On the one hand, the US is still working to ease relations with China after several years of near-frozen communication, in part sparked by former President Donald Trump’s initial round of China tariffs.

Tariffs can also have knock-on economic effects by increasing US manufacturing costs that may ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers, which would be unwelcome at a time when the US is already battling high inflation and Biden attempts to prove to voters that his economic policy is working.

A top administration official dismissed the idea that tariff hikes would lead to higher inflation.

“If taken, these actions will not increase inflation, but they will protect American jobs and the steel industry,” the official said to reporters. “Residual inflation is not coming from goods, and these actions will not change that.”

On the other hand, the Biden campaign is looking to maintain a belligerent stance on China as he tries to compete with Trump for blue-collar votes in addition to restating his opposition to the proposed sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel.