US Trade Representative to Raise Broad Issues with China

Step 1 Emphasizes Compliance with Trade Agreement Promises
"Serious Concerns over Country-Centered Trade Practices"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), emphasized compliance with the Phase One US-China trade agreement and stated that she would raise broad policy concerns with China. It is also reported that US President Joe Biden will put pressure on the implementation of the Phase One trade agreement.

On the 4th (local time), Representative Tai said in a pre-released speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), "I will express serious concerns to China about its country-centric and non-market trade practices."

She also emphasized, "While working to fulfill the conditions of the Phase One trade agreement, we will raise broad policy issues with China."

A senior official explained, "President Joe Biden believes that the Phase One trade agreement did not meaningfully address our fundamental concerns about China’s trade practices and will hold China accountable for failing to keep its promises."

He said, "We will use all kinds of means, including those we currently have or newly develop, to protect America’s economic interests from hostile policies and practices."

Representative Tai’s remarks are interpreted as a signal that the Biden administration’s review of trade policy toward China has concluded and that full-scale negotiations will begin.

In her speech that day, Representative Tai was also expected to announce the introduction of a "targeted tariff exclusion process" for exemptions from the high tariffs imposed on $370 billion (approximately 439 trillion won) worth of Chinese imports during the Trump administration. Through this, the US government is expected to mitigate damage to domestic industries caused by supply chain disruptions.

Representative Tai forecasted, "I will have candid talks with Chinese authorities." A senior official explained that Tai would soon hold talks with Liu He, China’s Vice Premier, but "we recognize that China may not change, and a corresponding response strategy is necessary."

The US and China signed the Phase One trade agreement in January last year to resolve trade conflicts. Accordingly, China agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion (approximately 237 trillion won) or more of US products, including energy, agriculture, and manufacturing, in 2020?2021 compared to 2017, while the US agreed to lower tariffs on Chinese products. However, China is understood to have purchased only about 62% of the promised amount last year.

The Phase Two trade agreement, focused on intellectual property rights, which has not even begun negotiations, is effectively collapsing. A senior official said, "It seems difficult for China to make meaningful reforms immediately," and "there are no plans to pursue Phase Two trade agreement negotiations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.