China, US urged to ‘start small’ as Biden ponders Trump-era trade tariff rollback amid record inflation
- Former acting deputy US trade representative Wendy Cutler believes Washington will soon unveil its plan for how to handle the trade tariffs
- US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he is in the process of making up his mind about the US$350 billion of Trump-era tariffs imposed on Chinese goods
China and the United States have been urged to “start small” as the Biden administration seemingly inches towards a decision on how to handle the US$350 billion of Trump-era tariffs imposed on Chinese goods, with hope that any progress could kick-start an “upwards spiral”.
“I would just urge my Chinese friends no matter what we do, but particularly if the United States goes ahead and rolls back some tariffs, that China responds in kind even for its own reasons,” she said on Monday at a forum held by the Centre for China and Globalisation.
“That would be a very positive step … maybe we can see kind of an upwards spiral, meaning that if the United States were to roll back some [tariffs], China could roll back some and even more, and then the United States can respond in kind.”
US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he is in the process of making up his mind about the tariffs, with a talk with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping expected “soon”.
