U.S. to Launch Trade Talks with China, Tariffs to Remain in Place

New York, NY, October 4, 2021-The U.S. plans to launch new trade talks with China, but will maintain tariffs on Chinese imports as it presses Beijing to fulfill pledges to buy more U.S. goods and services, according to Biden administration officials, reports the Wall Street Journal.

“The new initiative is set to be detailed in a policy address Monday by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in what would be her first detailed remarks on trade between the world’s two largest economies since she took office in March.

“Ms. Tai will also announce that the U.S. will reopen a process for U.S. companies to seek exemptions from tariffs, senior administration officials said. The Trump administration created an exclusion process for companies that could show they had no viable alternative to Chinese imports, but the Biden administration allowed that process to expire.

“The Biden administration has spent months reviewing China policy, including the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration that initially taxed about $370 billion in Chinese imports, including consumer goods like electronics, apparel and furniture, as well as thousands of items that are part of the supply chain for many U.S. factories.

“Biden administration officials say they plan to keep the tariffs in place-and consider imposing additional levies-as leverage to get China to fulfill terms of the 2020 trade deal with the U.S.”