US has no decoupling plans despite ‘complex’ ties with China: trade chief Katherine Tai

Name: An unwinnable conflict? The US-China trade war, 5 years on
Uploaded: 2023-04-26T09:27:54.000Z
Duration: 14 min 45 s
Description: An unwinnable conflict? The US-China trade war, 5 years on

The remarks by Trade Representative Katherine Tai follow similar comments by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warning that decoupling would be ‘disastrous’

US, China have to be ‘clear-eyed and honest’ about their issues, and recognise they have a responsibility to the world ‘to get things right between us’

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US Trade Representative Katherine Tai says the US and China have a responsibility to the world “to get things right between us”. Photo: AP

Su-Lin Tanin Singapore

Published: 5:27pm, 26 Apr 2023

The United States has no intention to decouple from China even as it continues to face trade tensions with Asia’s biggest economy, Washington’s trade tsar has said.

The remarks by Trade Representative Katherine Tai follow similar comments by others, including the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who have warned that decoupling would be “disastrous” for the US and the world.

Tai, speaking to Asia-Pacific journalists in a teleconference, said she carried a similar message during her recent visits to Japan and the Philippines.

Katherine Tai visits a Patagonia store in Tokyo on April 19, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg

Tai said it was important for the two superpowers to be “clear-eyed and honest” about their problems, and recognise they have a responsibility to the world “to get things right between us”.

“I stand by what I said last week – and it’s been consistent across our administration. In terms of decoupling, [it] is not the goal and decoupling is not practicable either as a goal,” she said, referring to remarks she delivered in Japan.

“Nevertheless, we do have a complex and complicated relationship with China, especially around level-playing field issues, and the fairness of the trade and trade opportunities between us.

“So those are issues that we absolutely need to tackle and address in our relationship … it is a matter of not just our own economies, our workers, and our businesses, but as the two largest economies in the world, it impacts the entire world economy.”

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An unwinnable conflict? The US-China trade war, 5 years on