US lawmakers bring back bill to revoke China’s trade status

Legislation targets permanent normal trade relations designation, which was conferred in 2000 ahead of China’s joining the WTO

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A container ship sails from the Qingdao port in eastern China’s Shandong province on December 26, 2024. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:54am, 24 Jan 2025Updated: 5:01am, 24 Jan 2025

Republicans in the US Congress introduced legislation on Thursday to repeal China’s preferential trade status that it has held for over two decades, garnering a Democratic co-sponsor for the first time.

Permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status is a legal designation in the US for non-discriminatory trade with a foreign state. It was granted to China in 2000 in exchange for Beijing agreeing to open its markets and liberalise its trade practices ahead of joining the World Trade Organization.

But the Restoring Trade Fairness Act, introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate, would revoke it. The bill would set minimum 35 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and duties of 100 per cent for “strategic” goods and give the US president the ability to phase in the change over five years.

The bill would also strip “de minimis” treatment – which exempts shipments worth less than US$800 from import duties and rigorous screening – for packages coming in from China and several other countries.

Crucially, the bill would not allow for an annual congressional vote to recertify the PNTR status, though it would provide tariff revenue for US farmers and manufacturers hurt by potential retaliation from Beijing.

“For too long, permanent normal trade relations with China have undermined our manufacturing base, shifted American jobs abroad, and allowed the CCP to exploit our markets while betraying the promise of fair competition,” said Representative John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China and is a sponsor of the House bill.