In the meantime, Biden says tariffs on Chinese goods will remain in place

Photo Credit: Center for American Progress

President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that lifting tariffs on Chinese imports was not the right moment since Beijing had failed to meet its commitments under the Phase One trade agreement.

“I’d like to be able to be in a position where I can say they’re meeting the commitments, more than the commitments, to be able to lift something, but we’re not there yet,” Biden said during a news conference at White House.

An investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce under Section 301 in 2018 revealed that China engaged in illegal trade practices, including excessive government subsidies and intellectual property theft. As a result, the two sides signed a trade deal in January 2020, with China promising to buy additional U.S. goods and services worth at least $200 billion.

According to statistics gathered by the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, China had only reached 60% of its purchasing objective under the trade agreement as of November 2021. The Census Bureau of the United States has not yet issued trade data for December 2021.

20 Jan 2022