A Congressional panel recommended this week that the United States should major major changes to its trade relationship with China.
Congressional Report
In its annual report to Congress released Tuesday, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission recommended, for the first time, ending permanent normal trade relations with Beijing.
The proposal aligns with recent calls by prominent Republican lawmakers, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio—President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state—as tensions over trade with China are expected to escalate under the new administration.
The shift would require the U.S. to reinstate annual reviews of China’s trade practices, providing greater leverage to confront what the commission described in its report as Beijing’s “unfair trade behaviors.”
AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo
“This move would signal a shift toward a more assertive trade policy aimed at protecting U.S. industries and workers from economic coercion,” the report said.
The recommendation is one of several outlined in a nine-page report by the commission, which was established in 2000 to assess the national security implications of the evolving trade relationship between Washington and Beijing.
Background on U.S.-China Trade
A congressional decision during the final year of the Clinton administration paved the way for China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001. The move was driven by the belief that integrating China into the U.S.-led global economy and fostering economic growth might encourage political liberalization in the country.
That vision never materialized, and the U.S.-China trade relationship shifted dramatically in 2018 during Trump’s first administration, which initiated a trade war aimed at addressing trade imbalances.
Trump Presidency
On the campaign trail this year, Donald Trump pledged to impose 60 percent tariffs on Chinese goods in a bid to further reduce the trade deficit, a move that experts warn could weaken China’s economy while increasing consumer prices in the U.S. The trade imbalance in 2023 stood at $279 billion, a significant drop from $418 billion in 2018.
In September, a group of Republican senators, led by Rubio, introduced legislation to terminate permanent normal trade relations with China, a status that currently minimizes trade barriers between the two nations.
“Giving Communist China the same trade benefits that we give to our greatest allies was one of the most catastrophic decisions that our country has ever made,” Rubio said after introducing the bill.
Last week, Trump tapped Rubio—a vocal critic of communism and a staunch advocate for a tough approach toward China—as his choice to head the State Department. Rubio’s nomination will require Senate confirmation.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
