US trade rep pick defends tariff
Phase 1 deal shouldn’t stunt re-engagement
US President Joe Biden’s trade pick Katherine Tai took a tough stance on China during her Senate confirmation testimony as US Trade Representative on Thursday, backing tariffs as a “legitimate tool” to counter China and vowing to hold Beijing to live up to its commitments under the phase one trade deal, according to Reuters.
The deal’s implementation shouldn’t be a roadblock to the resumption of China-US talks under the Biden administration, Chinese experts said on Friday, advising that China needs to be prepared for a continuation of a tough trade stance under the Biden administration.
They envision a broader negotiating framework that goes beyond merely the trade sphere to re-engage the world’s top two economies.
Tai’s latest comments, adding to Biden’s comments late last year that he would not immediately remove tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese products against WTO rules, and his recent executive order that launched a 100-day review of supply chains for critical products including semiconductor chips, indicate the new government is not fundamentally different from the Trump administration in its China trade policy, He Weiwen, a former economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco and New York, told the Global Times on Friday.
The Biden administration might change its stance, but that would certainly take time, He said, suggesting China ought to be well-positioned for trade toughness in the near future.
There have been rising calls from Chinese officials and observers to push the US to remove unreasonable tariffs on Chinese goods, as part of efforts to genuinely restart wideranging talks between China and the US.
In a clear message to the US government, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday said frankly that China hopes the US side will remove unreasonable tariffs on Chinese goods.
The speech marked the first time since the Biden administration took office that Chinese officials have demanded that the US remove tariffs, which Chinese observers said Beijing is willing to cooperate, but that there are also “hurdles that need to be cleared” as a precondition for further cooperation.
“This is the bottom line for Chinese government’s attitude on tariffs,” Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing who closely follows trade issues, told the Global Times on Friday.
China and the US are downplaying the phase one deal for “reasons of epidemic,” Chinese experts said. However, the deal implementation should by no means be considered a roadblock for the two economies to re-engage with each other, they argued, envisaging a bigger picture to not just cover bilateral trade, but also in the political sphere that involves human rights and technology.