US lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill last Thursday that would revoke China's preferential trade status with the United States, phase in steep tariffs and end the 'de minimis' exemption for low-value Chinese imports, according to Reuters.
The bill, introduced by John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives' select committee on China, comes after President Donald Trump issued a memo asking his cabinet to assess legislation on the Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) designation for Beijing.
Congress approved PNTR for China in 2000, paving the way for its entry into the World Trade Organization. But the us has routinely found the large role of the state in China's economy, including hefty government subsidies for strategic industries, to violate the global trade body's rules.
Mr Trump, who has railed against China's vast trade surplus with the US, has vowed more duties on Chinese goods.
Mr Moolenaar's Restoring Trade Fairness Act was co-sponsored by Democratic Representative Tom Suozzi and introduced with a companion bill in the Senate. Mr Moolenaar said granting China PNTR had ushered in waves of Chinese imports, depleted US manufacturing and made the US susceptible to economic coercion from its 'foremost adversary'.
'This gamble failed,' Mr Moolenaar said in a statement. 'This legislation will safeguard US national security, enhance supply chain resilience, and bring manufacturing jobs back to America and our allies.'
China's embassy in Washington said any such move would harm both Chinese and US interests.
'Some US politicians are trying to reverse history and drag Sino-US economic and trade relations back to the Cold War era,' embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.
The path for the bill to become law was not immediately clear, but Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate. Lawmakers from both parties say they want to increase US companies' ability to compete with China.
SeaNews Turkey
The bill, introduced by John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives' select committee on China, comes after President Donald Trump issued a memo asking his cabinet to assess legislation on the Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) designation for Beijing.
Congress approved PNTR for China in 2000, paving the way for its entry into the World Trade Organization. But the us has routinely found the large role of the state in China's economy, including hefty government subsidies for strategic industries, to violate the global trade body's rules.
Mr Trump, who has railed against China's vast trade surplus with the US, has vowed more duties on Chinese goods.
Mr Moolenaar's Restoring Trade Fairness Act was co-sponsored by Democratic Representative Tom Suozzi and introduced with a companion bill in the Senate. Mr Moolenaar said granting China PNTR had ushered in waves of Chinese imports, depleted US manufacturing and made the US susceptible to economic coercion from its 'foremost adversary'.
'This gamble failed,' Mr Moolenaar said in a statement. 'This legislation will safeguard US national security, enhance supply chain resilience, and bring manufacturing jobs back to America and our allies.'
China's embassy in Washington said any such move would harm both Chinese and US interests.
'Some US politicians are trying to reverse history and drag Sino-US economic and trade relations back to the Cold War era,' embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.
The path for the bill to become law was not immediately clear, but Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate. Lawmakers from both parties say they want to increase US companies' ability to compete with China.
SeaNews Turkey
