Joe Biden’s commerce secretary pick backs tariffs and export limits against Chinese firms
- ‘I intend to use all those tools to the fullest extent possible,’ Gina Raimondo, the governor of Rhode Island, says at confirmation hearing
- She holds off committing to maintaining current sanctions against Huawei Technologies
US President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the country’s Commerce Department told senators on Tuesday that she would use punitive tariffs and export restrictions against China, but stopped short of a specific commitment to keep existing sanctions against Huawei Technologies in place.
“China‘s actions have been anticompetitive, hurtful to American workers and businesses, coercive and … culpable for atrocious human rights abuses, so whether it‘s the ‘entity list’ or tariffs or countervailing duties, I intend to use all those tools to the fullest extent possible,” Gina Raimondo, currently the governor of Rhode Island, testified remotely during her confirmation hearing in the Senate.
Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary during the Trump administration, put Huawei on an “entity list” in May 2019, citing national security concerns, a move that prevented US suppliers from selling goods and technology to the company without a special licence.
Other Chinese companies on the list include Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and the drone maker DJI Technology.
When Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican known for his strident anti-China stance, pressed Raimondo for assurances she would not remove Huawei from the list, the nominee committed only to “review the policy, consult with you, consult with industry, consult with our allies and make an assessment as to what‘s best for American national and economic security”.
