Sen. Cramer, Colleagues Urge President Biden to Keep Section 301 Tariffs in Place, Enforce Phase One Agreement with China

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) in sending a letter to President Biden urging him not to lift the Section 301 tariffs, which currently target China and their illegal and unfair trade practices. The Biden Administration has publicly signaled a desire to lift the tariffs, a policy position long advocated for by the Chinese Communist Party. The Biden Administration has also noted that China has failed to comply with provisions in the Phase One Agreement, which the Trump Administration reached with China in January 2020. Despite China's non-compliance, the Biden Administration has signaled a reluctance to utilize the Agreement's enforcement mechanism to hold China accountable.

"We write to express our continued support for the trade action taken against China pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. We share long-standing concerns about the ways in which China's acts, policies, and practices have discriminated against U.S. exports and contributed to the offshoring of U.S. jobs, manufacturing, and innovation, all of which has undermined the competitiveness of our country. As you consider the future of the Section 301 action, we urge you to substantially maintain the tariffs in their current form. Rolling back the tariffs on China would undermine the U.S. position in negotiations, expose many U.S. companies and workers to a sudden flood of imports, and signal to China that waiting out the United States is preferable to changing their non-market behavior or complying with the Phase One Agreement," wrote the senators.

"Rather than lifting the tariffs, the United States should use the enforcement tools guaranteed by that agreement to make clear that we are serious about rectifying its violations. We need to make clear to China that dialogue leads to commitments--and failure to adhere to these commitments are followed by robust enforcement. If we do not exercise the legal rights under the Phase One Agreement, it will only make it more difficult to make progress with China on the subsidies, state-owned enterprises, suppression of labor rights, and other unfair behaviors that are the core of the structural obstacles to a level playing field in bilateral trade," concluded the senators.

Joining Senators Cramer and Portman are Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mike Braun (R-IN), Rick Scott (R-FL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Click here to read the letter.

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