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US-China trade: as barriers remain to a trade solution, analysts stress need to get on the same page
- Trying to impose one’s economic will on another country will get them nowhere, experts say
- In the end, they say, both sides will do what they feel is best for their country and people
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In light of controversial subsidies that China hands out to bolster its strategic sectors, the United States is holding firm in advocating for what it considers a fair trade environment.
Yet, analysts say it remains difficult for one country to impose its economic will on others. And opposing viewpoints on trade remain a key barrier to the US and China returning to the negotiating table to create a more viable trade solution.
Their failure to come to terms on trade is perhaps best illustrated by the expiration of their phase-one trade deal at the end of last year, with no indication from either side of when the stalemate on talks could end.
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Former Chinese finance minister Lou Jiwei also recently accused the US of adopting practices that it has accused China of, while suggesting that “market distortion” and “industrial subsidies” must be defined in talks between the strategic rivals.
But Benjamin Kostrzewa, a foreign legal consultant at Hogan Lovells and a former assistant general counsel with the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), offered a different perspective.
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