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The White House is preparing to announce on Thursday a plan to eventually hit China with tariffs and other trade restrictions, according to two administration officials.
President Donald Trump is slated to outline the results of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer's investigation into allegations that China violates U.S. intellectual property rights by forcing American companies to transfer valuable technology to Beijing.
Lighthizer’s office has determined that the United States loses at least $30 billion a year to China’s alleged forced technology transfers. As POLITICO reported last week, the administration is weighing a package of tariffs equivalent to that amount of Chinese imports or more.
Trump’s senior advisers have been debating which remedies to impose in response to the investigation for months, and they have drafted proposals for tariffs, investment restrictions and even visa limits aimed at China.
But it’s unclear whether the president will unveil specific retaliatory measures Thursday. People familiar with the internal debate said there are still ongoing discussions about exactly which actions the administration should take. Trump could instead simply instruct key agencies to finalize the proposals in the coming weeks or months.
The timing of the Thursday announcement could slip, especially if a snowstorm shuts down much of Washington midweek. The White House declined to comment Tuesday.
The administration is seeking to target goods that are “meaningful to China,” especially products and technology Beijing is seeking to boost through the Made in China 2025 initiative aimed at growing its high-tech sectors, an administration official said.
Two sources briefed on the administration’s planning said the White House is considering imposing tariffs on between $30 billion and $50 billion in Chinese imports (please be 60 billion I was reading earlier today!). Those goods would be hit with one tariff rate across the board — with the intention of blocking most of those imports from entering the U.S. market, the sources said. But administration officials said the final numbers are still in flux.
The U.S. trade actions might eventually bring China to the table to talk about American concerns with Beijing’s industrial overcapacity, state subsidies and lack of market access for U.S. companies.
Still unclear is whether the White House has any specific thresholds for progress on those issues and what China might do for the U.S. to reverse the tariffs or investment curbs, according to administration officials and outside advisers.
“It’s a little bit of a red herring for the business community to be overly critical that there aren’t clear off-ramps for China, because it’s really unclear if the Chinese would even take them,” said one outside adviser to the administration who has been briefed on the planning of the trade actions against China.
The adviser added that leaders gathered this week at China’s National People’s Congress, the country’s rubber-stamping legislative body, appeared to “quintuple down” on their industrial policies geared toward elevating the country’s economy.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/20/trump-china-trade-crackdown-431143
President Donald Trump is slated to outline the results of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer's investigation into allegations that China violates U.S. intellectual property rights by forcing American companies to transfer valuable technology to Beijing.
Lighthizer’s office has determined that the United States loses at least $30 billion a year to China’s alleged forced technology transfers. As POLITICO reported last week, the administration is weighing a package of tariffs equivalent to that amount of Chinese imports or more.
Trump’s senior advisers have been debating which remedies to impose in response to the investigation for months, and they have drafted proposals for tariffs, investment restrictions and even visa limits aimed at China.
But it’s unclear whether the president will unveil specific retaliatory measures Thursday. People familiar with the internal debate said there are still ongoing discussions about exactly which actions the administration should take. Trump could instead simply instruct key agencies to finalize the proposals in the coming weeks or months.
The timing of the Thursday announcement could slip, especially if a snowstorm shuts down much of Washington midweek. The White House declined to comment Tuesday.
The administration is seeking to target goods that are “meaningful to China,” especially products and technology Beijing is seeking to boost through the Made in China 2025 initiative aimed at growing its high-tech sectors, an administration official said.
Two sources briefed on the administration’s planning said the White House is considering imposing tariffs on between $30 billion and $50 billion in Chinese imports (please be 60 billion I was reading earlier today!). Those goods would be hit with one tariff rate across the board — with the intention of blocking most of those imports from entering the U.S. market, the sources said. But administration officials said the final numbers are still in flux.
The U.S. trade actions might eventually bring China to the table to talk about American concerns with Beijing’s industrial overcapacity, state subsidies and lack of market access for U.S. companies.
Still unclear is whether the White House has any specific thresholds for progress on those issues and what China might do for the U.S. to reverse the tariffs or investment curbs, according to administration officials and outside advisers.
“It’s a little bit of a red herring for the business community to be overly critical that there aren’t clear off-ramps for China, because it’s really unclear if the Chinese would even take them,” said one outside adviser to the administration who has been briefed on the planning of the trade actions against China.
The adviser added that leaders gathered this week at China’s National People’s Congress, the country’s rubber-stamping legislative body, appeared to “quintuple down” on their industrial policies geared toward elevating the country’s economy.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/20/trump-china-trade-crackdown-431143
