In trying to hammer out a trade agreement with China, the Trump administration may be drawing inspiration from classic rock, specifically The Who’s anthem…
In trying to hammer out a trade agreement with China, the Trump administration may be drawing inspiration from classic rock, specifically The Who’s anthem “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
Fed up with China for breaking past promises, the administration is insisting on provisions designed to force the Chinese to live up to any commitments they make in trade talks that entered an 11th round on Thursday.
In fact, top U. S. trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin this week accused the Chinese of already reneging on concessions they’d made earlier in the negotiations.
In retaliation for that alleged backsliding, the United States is poised to dramatically escalate the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies at 12:01 a.m. Friday Eastern time — by raising import taxes on $200 billion in Chinese goods from 10% to 25%.
And President Donald Trump said he’s preparing to slap 25% tariffs on another $325 billion in Chinese imports, covering everything China ships to the United States.
The two countries are battling over U. S. allegations that China steals technology and pressures American companies into handing over trade secrets, part of an aggressive campaign to turn Chinese companies into world leaders in robotics, electric cars and other advanced industries.
The U. S. currently is levying 10% tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports and 25% on another $50 billion. The Chinese have retaliated by targeting $110 billion in U. S. products and are threatening more sanctions if Washington goes ahead with its plan to raise tariffs Friday.
When the talks began last year, it appeared that the Chinese might try to appease Trump by agreeing to buy lots of American products — especially soybeans and liquefied natural gas — and put a dent in America’s massive trade deficit with China, a whopping $379 billion last year.
But as the talks dragged on, it became increasingly apparent that “a heap of soybeans isn’t going to get the job done,” said Amanda DeBusk, chair of the international trade practice at the law firm Dechert LLP and a former U. S. Commerce Department official.
Business groups, disappointed that China didn’t fully open up to foreign competition after joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, are pressuring the administration to hold out for a deal that requires China to abandon predatory trade practices, stop subsidizing homegrown companies and treat foreign firms more fairly.
“It was way past time to confront China on many of these problems,” said Michael Wessel, a member of the congressionally created U.
