By David Lawder

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen stated Wednesday that the Biden administration is looking to “reconfigure” tariffs on Chinese imports. However, she warned that these cuts wouldn’t be a panacea for easing high levels of inflation.

Yellen said to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, that the Biden administration was looking at changes to Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods and the process to exclude specific items from these duties.

In the coming weeks more information about tariff plans will be made available, she said. She also stated that any changes are “under active consideration.”

Trump-era tariffs as high as 25% apply to hundreds of millions of dollars of Chinese imports. This includes many consumer goods, such as clothing and Bluetooth devices.

“I think some of those tariffs…really were paid by Americans not by Chinese,” Yellen claimed, adding that the Adminition was trying to “reconfigure these tariffs in a more strategic way.”

These comments suggest that there is an ongoing internal debate within the Biden Administration about the disposal of tariffs.

Yellen has clashed with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai who argued the future of tariffs should also be looked at as part a new strategy for pushing Beijing to limit its non-market trade practices.

Tai stated Monday that it was more difficult to curb inflation than cutting tariffs.

Yellen stated that although some tariff reductions may be justified and can help lower some consumer prices it will have a limited effect on the high inflation rate of around 8% per year, which she reiterated was unacceptable.

In response to a question about tariffs, Yellen stated that she did not believe tariff policies are a panacea for inflation. Goods make up only 33% of the consumption, and it is not known what impact or pass-through tariff reductions would have on consumers.

Florida Democrat Stephanie Murphy had earlier introduced legislation Wednesday that directed Treasury to conduct a study about the inflationary consequences of tariffs. The investigation would include duties on Chinese goods and steel, aluminum solar panels and washing machines, as well.