Lummondo US Commerce Secretary: "Will Hold China Accountable for First Trade Agreement Breach"

Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, stated that China will be held accountable for failing to achieve the U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV on the 9th (local time), Secretary Raimondo said, "China did not fulfill the trade agreement made during the Donald Trump administration," adding, "We intend to hold China responsible."

The United States and China signed the Phase One trade agreement in January 2020. At that time, the U.S. and China agreed to end the trade war that began in July 2018 when the Trump administration imposed large-scale tariffs on Chinese products after 18 months, and to build a fair and mutually beneficial trade relationship. Under the Phase One trade agreement, the U.S. agreed to withdraw additional tariffs on Chinese products, and China committed to purchasing $200 billion (231.7 trillion KRW) more U.S. products over two years by the end of 2021 compared to 2017.

However, Bloomberg reported that an analysis of U.S. Commerce Department data showed that by the end of last year, China's additional purchase amount was only about 62.9% of the promised $200 billion.

China's purchases in the energy sector amounted to only about one-third of the agreed amount in the trade deal. Purchases in the manufacturing sector were also around 65% of the target.

The failure to fulfill the Phase One trade agreement led to the largest U.S. trade deficit in history last year.

The Commerce Department announced the previous day that last year's trade deficit reached $859.1 billion (approximately 1,029.6 trillion KRW), a 26.9% increase compared to 2020. The trade deficit with China was $355.3 billion, accounting for 41.2% of the total deficit.

Catherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), also pointed out that "the Chinese government subsidized its domestic companies, limiting the competitiveness of U.S. companies," and said, "China did not comply with the rules."

Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also argued that the U.S. government should hold China accountable.

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