U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer believes the implementation of tariffs on China has worked well in curbing Chinese trade bullying, and he recommends that the Biden administration continue the tariff policy.
During the Trump presidency, a trade war broke out between the United States and China, and the United States and China imposed tariffs on each other. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer believes that the implementation of tariffs on China has had good results in curbing the trade bullying by the Chinese Communist Party, and he recommends that the Biden administration continue the tariff policy.
Lighthizer said that because of the good results achieved by imposing massive tariffs on Chinese imports, protecting the interests of American businesses and people should truly be at the heart of U.S. policymaking.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Lighthizer praised the Trump administration for taking a tough approach to China trade that has benefited American workers. He said that while keeping all tariffs on Chinese goods increases the burden on U.S. businesses and consumers, it helps weaken the World Trade Organization (WTO) from overriding U.S. policy and makes it more difficult for U.S. companies to move overseas.
According to Leitheiser, the tariffs have gotten good results, so there is no reason to drop them. The 25 percent tariff on Chinese auto imports has prevented China from potentially selling millions of cars in the United States. He said, “We protected our auto industry, our auto parts industry.”
And the tariffs didn’t lead to the economic disaster some economists predicted, “We changed the way people think about trade, we changed the way the models work.” Leitheiser said, “My hope is that this [the tariffs] will continue.”
Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told China Day that “he [Lighthizer] is the most influential trade representative since President Kennedy created the post in 1963” and that “he has reversed the trend toward globalization tendencies.”
Biden’s economic team agrees with Lighthizer on China, but his advisers believe the Trump administration has failed to get Beijing to adopt long-term reforms, including reducing government support for industry and protecting U.S. companies’ trade secrets, in part because it has simultaneously stirred up fights with U.S. allies.
So Biden plans to abandon unilateral action and sign up allies to create a so-called “united front” against Beijing, which will decide whether to keep the tariffs after consulting with European and Asian partners.
Leitheiser expressed alarm at the plan, saying it could allow other countries to slow or veto U.S. actions and tie the United States to endless, meaningless discussions with Beijing. He said the U.S. and China “started a dialogue in the (1990s). That didn’t work. All of this is just a waste of time.
Moreover, the Chinese Communist authorities are pursuing their own multilateral agenda. In the 20 years since the United States helped the Communist Party join the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Communist Party has been increasing its efforts to work through the WTO. And several international organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), have become key venues for the CCP’s overt power grab.
Given the appeal of China’s huge market, Biden is having a hard time convincing his allies to unite against the CCP. For example: China and the European Union have just recently reached an investment agreement.
The U.S. is currently imposing tariffs on 370 billion yuan of Chinese goods, or three-quarters of all Chinese goods, the largest tariffs since the 1930s. In the face of the massive tariffs, the U.S. and China signed the first phase of a trade agreement a year ago to increase purchases of $200 billion in U.S. goods and services over two years, develop financial markets and reduce pressure to force technology transfers from U.S. companies. But Beijing’s actions have lagged far behind its procurement commitments.
Trump’s tenure has been marked by head-on confrontation with the Chinese Communist Party on a number of issues and has changed the tone of U.S.-China relations. At the same time, Trump has promoted a growing consensus in Congress and among the public that China under the Communist Party is not only a competitor but also a threat to U.S. global leadership.
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