Influential American groups are urging President Joe Biden's administration to resume trade negotiations with Beijing and reduce the tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by Donald Trump as the trade war between the two countries intensifies. These groups, representing interests ranging from potato farmers to computer chip companies and the pharmaceutical industry, stated in a letter dated Thursday that the Biden administration should take "swift action" to end the "exorbitant" tariffs.
The letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai mentioned that "due to the tariffs, U.S. industries are facing increasing costs to produce products and provide services domestically, making their exports of these products and services less competitive abroad." A copy of the letter was obtained by AFP from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which had reported its existence.
Trade Representative spokesperson Adam Hodge told AFP, "As we make historic investments in infrastructure and work to rekindle our economy for the better, we are conducting a strategic review of our economic relationship with China to ensure an effective policy that yields results for American workers, farmers, and businesses, and positions them more robustly to compete with China." Hodge's comments may suggest that the Biden administration is currently not looking to reduce tariffs.
The Treasury Department declined to comment. The letter's signatories also called for working with Beijing to ensure it adheres to commitments made during the trade truce with the previous administration, which was signed in early 2020. The agreement, announced in January 2020, left U.S. tariffs on $360 billion of Chinese imports unchanged. Beijing had pledged to increase its purchases of U.S. products to rebalance trade with the United States. However, the agreement did not resolve the issue of Chinese government support for strategic industries such as computer chips and electric vehicles, raising concerns among American competitors. Katherine Tai had previously indicated upon taking office that she did not intend to lift tariffs immediately, viewing them as leverage for negotiations.
