US keeping tariffs on Chinese imports till Beijing opens up economy, trade representative says

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai suggested on Wednesday that punitive tariffs on Chinese imports will not come down until Beijing adopts more market-oriented trade and economic principles.

Speaking in a discussion organised by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Tai elaborated on US President Joe Biden’s economic strategy with respect to China, characterising it as the result of “an awakening” to the different histories and governance principles that have prevented Beijing from adopting what Washington expects from World Trade Organization members.

“What we really want from China in terms of economics and trade is for the Chinese economy to operate like ours, and along the assumptions and the norms that we feel are embodied in organisations like the World Trade Organization … which is open market-based with a pretty clean separation between government and state and the market and the economy,” Tai said.

“That is a combination of the tariffs that are in place” and initiatives like the Chips and Science Act, which Biden last month signed into law to provide government funding for domestic semiconductor manufacturing.