[Epoch Times October 21, 2021]On October 4, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai delivered a speech on the Biden administration’s trade policy with China. This is the first policy approach revealed after months of internal review and deliberation on how to deal with Beijing’s economic behavior. There are four items in total: First, review the implementation of the first phase of the US-China trade agreement and emphasize that Beijing must comply Signed commitment. Second, a targeted tariff exclusion process will be started, and the possibility of additional tariff exclusions will not be ruled out in the future. Third, Dai Qi will directly contact the Chinese trade representative, Vice Premier Liu He, to discuss the commitments made by China in the first phase of the trade agreement, and reiterate that the United States will use all tools to counter the industrial policies formulated by the Chinese government. Fourth, the United States will work with its allies and like-minded partners to build a fair and healthy competition international trade system, and the U.S.-China trade relationship needs to be “flexible and agile.” The Biden administration’s trade policy towards Beijing, It will be adjusted at any time as Beijing responds to the actions of the United States.
This speech triggered enthusiastic interpretations from all parties. Some people believed that the U.S.-China trade war was going to cool down or even end and return to the past; some people made the opposite interpretation, believing that the U.S.-China trade war 2.0 is about to start; some people divided the four approaches into ” Three emptiness and one reality. Items one, three, and four are all conventional practices and attitudes, which require substantive measures to support them. Therefore, they are “virtual”. Will the CCP understand that the Biden administration will eventually “make a false pretence”?
Dai Qi has already talked with Liu He, and only said it was a good talk, but did not reveal how China’s commitment to the first phase of the US-China trade agreement, which has not been implemented so far, will be completed in a short period of time. If it fails to complete the target What will be done. And whether the CCP will resort to delaying tactics again, just wait and see!
Regarding the second “actual” tariff exclusion, Dai Qi said that he would launch a “targeted tariff exclusion procedure” to exempt the Trump administration from tariffs imposed on China’s US$370 billion products. This “punitive” tariff is a retaliation for China’s unfair trade practices, but it has been criticized by many American businessmen. Dai Qi pointed out that “these tariffs do not have any strategic benefits and will increase the cost of the United States”. She will discuss with China on the implementation of the first phase of the trade agreement and launch the “tariff exclusion process” to ensure that the current structure is in line with the economic interests of the United States. . In other words, when new negotiations with the Chinese government are initiated, the existing tariffs will be retained, and at the same time, the ability of American importers to seek exemptions from these tariffs will be restored. The U.S. government lobbied to apply, allowing Chinese goods to enter the U.S. with low tariffs.
To put it simply, the result of the twists and turns, at first glance, it sounds clear and firm, but the Biden administration will resume U.S.-China trade, and tariffs may be lowered or even cancelled, and the second phase will not be carried out. Isn’t the US-China trade agreement meant to end the “US-China trade war”? In fact, Biden and his officials have repeatedly emphasized that “China is a partner” and that it is a competitive relationship. Don’t irritate the CCP, don’t let the trade conflict escalate, etc., you can smell that the Biden administration wants to abandon Trump’s tariff policy. The US-China trade war will also quietly end.
We know that as early as mid-July, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said publicly: “My personal view is that the method of imposing tariffs on China does not take into account the problems and the interests of the United States. “She told a reporter from The New York Times: “The tariffs imposed by the United States on China are not good for the economy. Tariffs are taxing consumers. In some cases, in my opinion, our actions hurt American consumers. , And the type of agreement negotiated by the previous government did not really solve our fundamental problems with China in many respects.” Yellen’s statement drew Peter Navarro’s response and refutation. However, whether Trump’s high tariff policy on China is good or bad for the U.S. economy and consumers may need to be more accurately assessed, but Trump’s tariff policy on China is forcing the CCP to carry out “structural reforms.” The tool is to change the Chinese system, abandon the communist system, and change towards a free and democratic system. There are signs that the policy is indeed effective, but it must be persisted to the end, otherwise it will inevitably fall short.
Just as the Trump administration’s trade negotiator Robert E. Lighthizer publicly sent a message to the next official in his last interview with the US media: The Biden administration should withstand the pressure to complete the switch, because the United States and the world can’t afford it. The result of a failed competition with the CCP. He said: The first thing that the Biden administration must do is to maintain the current Trump administration’s trade policy and firmly implement the rules of all the Trump administration’s trade agreements. The key is to enforce the law, and then enter the next stage. He also reminded that the Biden administration must always remain vigilant against competition with Beijing. It must use the first phase of the agreement to keep tariffs unchanged and add new tariffs where appropriate. Lighthizer said earnestly: “They are so important, they will determine what the community where we will live and raise our children will become.”
When Yellen criticized Trump’s tariff policy on China, I published an article on July 30, “Don’t Resurrect “CCP Mercantilism”,” hoping that the Biden administration will continue and not stop the US-China trade war. Today, Dai Qi’s remarks on behalf of the US government and President Biden seem to be the end of the US-China trade war, and Biden will eventually suspend Trump’s trade policy with China. I agree with Professor Xie Tian’s statement on October 8th: “The Biden administration’s new trade policy towards the CCP can be said to quench its thirst, seek fish from the tree, and restrain its own hands and feet everywhere. The consequences of illusions and constant judgments about the evil regime. , It will inevitably lead to infinite disasters in the future. “Yes! “This may also be the period of the end of the law and the end of the calamity, our fate of mankind?” Alas!
The author is a special researcher of China Economic Research Institute
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