US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross blames trade deficit with China on ‘evil practices’ as he prepares for talks with Beijing
Wilbur Ross is heading a hard-line delegation: ‘One way or another, we are going to deal with this recurring problem of trade with China’
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has blamed “evil practices” for America’s record trade deficit with China just days before he and other members of President Donald Trump’s closest economic advisers arrive in Beijing for talks aimed at averting an all-out bilateral tariff war.
“President Trump is of the view that it’s now time for action. Our trade deficit is too big, too continuing, too chronic and too inspired by evil practices,” Ross said on Tuesday in an interview with CNBC.
Tariffs on some US$50 billion worth of annual imports from China – which could go into effect next month – may provide the leverage Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will need to wrest concessions from Beijing, the commerce secretary said.
Those tariffs, to be imposed on imports of Chinese electronics and machinery as well as automotive and aerospace products, were the result of a so-called Section 301 investigation into policies that force foreign companies in China to transfer intellectual property to their joint venture partners on the mainland.