Washington DC [US], May 14 (ANI): United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Thursday said that Washington will not hesitate to call out China's coercive trade practices and added that Washington welcomes the trade competition but it must be fair.
Speaking before a committee hearing on the Biden administration's trade policy agenda, Tai said, "We will not hesitate to call out China's coercive and unfair trade practices that harm American workers, undermine the multilateral system, or violate basic human rights. We are working towards a strong, strategic approach to our trade and economic relationship with China. "
"We welcome the competition. But the competition must be fair, and if China cannot or will not adapt to international rules and norms, we must be bold and creative in taking steps to level the playing field and enhance our own capabilities and partnerships," she added.
This comes as the Biden administration is still evaluating China's compliance to the trade commitments it made with the previous Trump era and added that those commitments will ascertain how Washington will move forward in its ties with Beijing.
Tai had said last month that, "We are in the process of examining performance and are scrutinizing all the aspects of what they have done and what they have yet to do and what they have not done at the levels that they promised."
"These promises and China's ability to keep them ... will be a priority for us as we examine our options for engagement with China and all of our enforcement options."
In January 2020, China had agreed to buy at least USD 200 billion more in US goods and services over two years on top of its purchases in 2017. The Phase One deal was struck by former President Donald Trump after a tariffs fight that started between the two countries.
China imported about USD 100 billion of US goods - only 58 percent of the actual targeted volume of USD 173.1 billion for 2020, in the first year of the arrangement, Sputnik reported.
Biden administration has had a rocky start in the US relationship with China, with officials from the two countries openly bickering before the media at a meeting in Alaska hosted by US State Secretary Anthony Blinken last month.
Both the countries have continued to tussle on issues pertaining to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, South China Sea, and the Indo-Pacific region.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU