Read more at the Wall Street Journal
The Biden administration said Monday it will use “all available tools” to respond to alleged unfair trading practices by Beijing as it conducts a comprehensive review of its trade policy with China.
Releasing its first trade agenda, the administration said it is committed to using tariffs and other tools to combat alleged unfair trade practices by China, including unfair subsidies to favored industries and use of forced labor that targets Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
“The Biden administration recognizes that China’s coercive and unfair trade practices harm American workers, threaten our technological edge, weaken our supply-chain resiliency and undermine our national interests,“ the administration said. “Addressing the China challenge will require a comprehensive strategy and more systematic approach.”
Beijing has defended its trade practices and its treatment of Uyghurs, which it says is aimed at preventing terrorist attacks.
Under former President Donald Trump, the U.S. negotiated a trade agreement that calls for China to increase its purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion over two years, open its financial markets and ease pressure on U.S. firms to hand over technology.
Since that deal was signed a little over a year ago, however, China has fallen behind target for U.S. purchases, in part because of economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.