It is a hot file signed during the mandate of Donald Trump that President Joe Biden wishes to clarify as soon as possible. The Biden administration will launch “in the coming days of frank discussions” on trade with China, believing that the Asian giant has not honored its commitments made under the agreement signed in early 2020. “China has made commitments which should benefit certain American industries, including agriculture, which we must enforce, “US Ambassador to Commerce Katherine Tai will declare on Monday in front of an American think tank.
According to excerpts from her speech, which she is due to deliver at 10:00 a.m. local time (2:00 p.m. GMT) in front of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Ms. Tai will also announce the launch “of a procedure for targeted exemptions from customs tariffs “which were put in place between 2018 and 2020 by the administration of Donald Trump on Chinese goods representing 370 billion dollars annually.
These punitive tariffs, imposed in retaliation for Chinese trade practices deemed “unfair”, are criticized by many companies. In early August, some of the most influential US business groups had urged the Biden administration to reduce these surcharges, pointing out that US industries faced “increased costs” as tariffs are paid by importers.
A US official said on condition of anonymity that these surcharges would remain in place for the duration of the exemption procedure. The US president had asked Katherine Tai to conduct a comprehensive review of US trade strategy vis-à-vis China.
“We continue to have serious concerns about China’s trade practices” that were not addressed in Phase 1 of the agreement, the ambassador will also underline with reference to more structural issues such as massive government subsidies. Chinese state-owned enterprises or the “theft” of intellectual property.
China pledged to purchase an additional $ 200 billion in US goods over two years including agricultural products, energy goods and manufacturing, with the goal of reducing the trade imbalance between the two countries.
The agreement signed in mid-January 2020 between Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He allowed a truce in the trade war between the United States and China which had slowed the growth of the two countries. “mixed” results, indicated the American official who wished to remain anonymous.
– Working with the allies –
The US official stressed Monday that the goal is not “to worsen trade tensions” with China. But the United States is ready to use “the whole range of tools” at its disposal and will develop “new tools as needed to defend American economic interests against harmful policies and practices,” Katherine Tai will put forward.
“At the heart of our strategy is a commitment to ensure that we work with our allies to create fair and open markets,” she will also emphasize. If Europe seems to distance itself from an absolutely firm American trade policy, its officials admit that they too are confronted with Beijing’s “unfair” trade practices.
And the American ambassador will not fail to highlight that the trade and economic relations between the two leading economic powers in the world has “an impact on the whole world and on billions of workers.” Washington does not hide the discussions with Beijing will be difficult: “we know that it is unlikely that China will carry out significant reforms for the moment,” said the official.
“Beijing is increasingly explicit that it is stepping up its efforts in its authoritarian, state-centric approach, and resisting addressing our concerns on structural aspects,” the official said. that China simply cannot change and that we must have a strategy that composes with China as it is, rather than as we might wish it to be, “he concluded.
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