US-China trade war: Washington urged to cut tariffs despite deal shortfall, stop issuing threats

China is reported to have bought only 57 per cent of the additional US$200 billion worth of goods and services in 2020 and 2021 under the phase-one trade deal

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has vowed to hold China to the terms of the deal before moving forward

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China bought only 57 per cent of the US exports it had committed to purchase under the phase-one trade deal with the United States, according to a report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:00pm, 10 Feb 2022

China has called on the United States to remove existing tariffs and stop threatening new levies in response to Beijing missing the targets under the phase-one trade deal.

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and the US Chamber of Commerce moved quickly to ratchet up the pressure on Beijing after a report on Wednesday showed China fell over 30 per cent short of the targets outlined in the Trump-era agreement.

China bought only 57 per cent of the additional US$200 billion worth of goods and services in 2020 and 2021, relative to 2017’s levels, according to a report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), with Raimondo vowing to hold China to the terms of the deal before moving forward.

We hope the US removes the additional tariffs imposed on China and all sanctions and containment measures, in order to create a sound situation and conditions to expand bilateral trade cooperation

Gao Feng

“Ever since the deal took effect, China has taken efforts to overcome the shocks of the [coronavirus] pandemic, the global economic recession and blocks in the supply chains, in implementing the deal,” commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday.

“We hope the US removes the additional tariffs imposed on China and all sanctions and containment measures, in order to create a sound situation and conditions to expand bilateral trade cooperation.”

The US-China trade war saw tariffs placed on a total of US$550 billion worth of goods, including US$350 billion originating in China.

Raimondo said in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday after the report was released that Washington “is in the thick of those negotiations now” but that “Beijing is not playing by the rules”.