Raimondo said at a White House press conference that the tariffs imposed under President Donald Trump “actually helped save American jobs in the steel and aluminum industries. At the time, Democrats had generally criticized Trump’s tariffs.
Overall, the United States currently maintains tariffs on 66 percent of Chinese imports. Raimondo said the tariffs are necessary for international trade to have a level playing field.
“The actions of the Chinese Communist Party are non-competitive, coercive and unleading. They have been shown to do whatever it takes,” she said. “So I plan to use all of the tools in my toolbox to be as proactive as possible to protect American employees and businesses from the unfair practices of the CCP.”
Three years ago, Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports from most countries and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. He argued that it was a matter of national security because it was necessary to ensure that domestic steel and aluminum production could survive.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with China increased 11.4 percent in February from January, rising to $30.3 billion, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Commerce Department.
A Pew Research Center poll conducted last year found that nearly 90 percent of the U.S. adult population views the Chinese Communist Party as a competitor or enemy, not a partner.
According to the poll, Americans are increasingly concerned about the Communist Party’s technological prowess, cyber attacks on the West, lack of respect for human rights and the loss of U.S. jobs thought to be caused by Chinese imports.
President Joe Biden has made infrastructure job creation a priority for his administration. He addressed the topic at the White House Wednesday afternoon. He contended that the Chinese Communist Party and other countries are running ahead of the United States in the race to “try to take control of the future.
Biden wants lawmakers to approve his plan to invest $2 trillion to create millions of jobs.
Congressional Republicans say the package is too vast in scope and most of it has nothing to do with traditional definitions of infrastructure — such as improving passenger train service, modernizing airports and fixing old highway bridges. Republicans in opposition also object to the way the Democratic leadership has funded the plan. They oppose any measure that would increase corporate income taxes.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Mitch McConnell) said Wednesday that he “hopes not every Democrat” will support Biden’s infrastructure bill, and that governing Democratic centrists “will have some misgivings about this massive expansion of government “.
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