The European Union, Japan, Germany and Canada have all expressed concern over China’s behavior on intellectual property theft.
President Donald Trump is expected to make a speech and sign a memorandum at the White House on Friday that will target China’s intellectual property and trade practices, senior White House officials told CNBC.
Three top Democratic senators, in a rare show of bipartisanship, on Wednesday urged the president to stand up to Beijing. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer pressed the Republican president to skip the investigation and go straight to trade action against China.
« We should certainly go after them, » said Schumer in a statement. Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sherrod Brown of Ohio also urged Trump to rein in China.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated in recent months as Trump has pressed China to cut steel production to ease global oversupply and rein in North Korea’s missile program.
The European Union, Japan, Germany and Canada have all expressed concern over China’s behavior on intellectual property theft.
U. S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would then initiate an investigation under the Trade Act of 1974’s Section 301, which allows the president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions to protect U. S. industries, the sources said.
It is unclear whether such a probe would result in trade sanctions against China, which Beijing would almost certainly challenge before the World Trade Organization.
