US-China trade war: Washington set to exempt some products from tariffs
- Companies expected to be able to lobby for exemptions from import duties on Chinese goods, although criteria yet to be revealed
- US Trade Representative Katherine Tai sets out the Biden administration’s approach to trade with China
The phase-one trade deal that then-president Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed in January 2020 “did not meaningfully address the fundamental concerns that we have with China’s trade practices and their harmful impacts on the US economy”, Tai said in her address at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
“Even with the phase-one agreement in place, China’s government continues to pour billions of dollars into targeted industries and continues to shape its economy to the will of the state – hurting the interests of workers here in the US and around the world,” she said.
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US trade chief calls for ‘pragmatic approach’ in reveal of China strategy
Tai cited steel and solar panels as examples of industries that the Chinese government has supported in ways that undercut US manufacturing, asserting that this assistance was responsible for a 40 per cent drop in US steel jobs.
