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White House moves to finalize China trade sanctions
WASHINGTON, May 30, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump said Tuesday
he is moving to finalize trade sanctions against China even as a US
delegation is set to travel to Beijing for talks to resolve the dispute.
The White House said the planned sanctions announced in March, largely
focused on China’s theft of American intellectual property, were still in the
works and details would be announced in the coming month.
It was yet another apparent change of course for Trump, who veers from
harsh threats to promises of compromise and back again on trade and other
more sensitive issues.
Despite announcing a truce in the trade hostilities less than 10 days ago,
after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said threatened tariffs on Chinese
goods were “on hold,” the White House signaled it was ready to pull the
trigger on a broad array of penalties.
“From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and to be
reciprocal,” in a statement, which spelled out a list of long-standing US
trade grievances,” Trump said in a statement.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the move breached the recent consensus
reached between Washington and Beijing.
“Whatever measures the United States takes, China has the confidence,
capability and experience to defend the interests of Chinese people and the
core interests of the country,” the ministry said in a statement published by
official new agency Xinhua.
The US trade sanctions announced in March — including restrictions on
Chinese investment, export controls and 25 percent tariffs on as much as $50
billion in Chinese tech goods — remain under development, the White House
said.
The final list of Chinese imports covered by the tariffs list will be
announced June 15, and imposed shortly thereafter, while the proposed
investment restrictions and enhanced export controls will be announced by
June 30, according to the statement.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $100 billion in
Chinese goods as well if Beijing retaliates.
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– ‘Difficult and unfair’ –
The White House said “the United States will continue efforts to protect
domestic technology and intellectual property, stop noneconomic transfers of
industrially significant technology and intellectual property to China, and
enhance access to the Chinese market.”
In addition, as part of the ongoing talks “the United States will request
that China remove all of its many trade barriers, including non-monetary
trade barriers, which make it both difficult and unfair to do business
there.”
The announcement, which offered little new information, comes as Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross prepares to travel to Beijing this week for another
round of talks aimed at resolving the conflict, which includes a threat of
matching sanctions from China on US goods.
The White House issued a second statement listing the details of many
complaints against China, including dumping of goods into the US market at
below market value, high tariffs and overcapacity — likely referring to
steel and aluminum, which are subject to another set of harsh US tariffs.
In addition to the bilateral talks with Beijing, the US also will continue
to pursue the complaints filed in the World Trade Organization as well as the
cases against individual products.
The National Retail Federation on Tuesday said it was “disappointed” with
the new White House communications, saying the tariffs would raise prices,
kill jobs and spur costly retaliation.
“China’s trade practices raise serious concerns but job-killing tariffs
aren’t the answer,” the statement said.
“The lack of clarity surrounding the administration’s plans is creating
significant uncertainty for American businesses, disrupting supply chains and
threatening to undermine the economic gains we’ve seen over the past year.
The NRF cited a study which estimated the tariffs on $50 billion in
Chinese imports could shave $3 billion off of US GDP and eliminate 134,000
jobs.
The White House announcement came on the heels of stiff criticism from
lawmakers of the White House’s negotiating tactics and willingness to soften
tough penalties in some cases with no benefit to the US.
Trump has faced a backlash among lawmakers this month after announcing he
would soften US sanctions on the Chinese telecoms equipment maker ZTE, which
neared collapse due to an April ban on purchasing crucial US components.
Lawmakers in both parties also criticized the president, saying this
month’s truce surrendered Washington’s leverage without obtaining significant
concessions from Beijing.
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