The U.S. government on Friday quadrupled the tariff rate on Chinese electric vehicles to 100 percent and sharply raised tariffs on Chinese goods in other areas of strategic importance, such as steel and solar products. With China only hinting so far about the possibility of countermeasures, the steep U.S. tariff hikes have come into effect. The rate on steel and aluminum products was lifted to 25 percent from the previous range of zero to 7.5 percent, while duties on solar cells and semiconductors were doubled to 50 percent. The hikes were first announced by President Joe Biden in May, about t…