Comments to USTR Show the Real ‐​World Harms of the Trump‐​Biden China Tariffs

Clark Packard and Alfredo Carrillo ObregonIn recent weeks, about 1,500 comments were filed with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) concerning the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration —and maintained by the Biden administration—on imports from China as a result of the recent trade war. The majority of the comments paint a bleak picture: the tariffs have—contrary to unsupported assertions you may have read elsewhere—caused very real pain for domestic firms, their workers, and the U.S. economy. These facts, coupled with the fact that the tariffs have not forced Beijing to change its troublesome economic policies and the recent bout of historicallyhigh inflation, are a stark reminder that the US should dramatically reduce the number of products subject to the tariffs, if not eliminate them entirely.To recap, in 2017, President Trump directed his USTR to investigate Chinese commercial practices pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. In March 2018, USTR issued areport with its findings that China uses a number of unfair and malicious methods, ranging from state-directed cyber hacking to forced technology transfers, to acquire U.S. technology in service of Beijing ’s high tech industrial policy known as “Made in China 2025”. The Trump administration used the report tolevy a series of ill-advised tariffs on about 70 percent of imports from China at an average rate of about 20 percent, about six times higher than they were up until then. The ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs