China's Inaction Driving Continued Trade Dispute, Deputy USTR Says

ATLANTA -- China's inaction in the face of accusations of unfair trade practices continues to drive the dispute between it and the U.S., Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish said while speaking at the CBP 2018 Trade Symposium on Aug. 15. "I recognize that many of you may have concerns about the tariffs being imposed. However, I can assure you these actions were not taken lightly," he said. The tariffs follow many years of failed discussions with the Chinese, including under the current administration, "in which the Chinese had repeatedly made commitments to correct their harmful, unfair and distortive actions and then refused to honor those commitments," he said.

The tariffs are a tool to "respond to and fight back against the egregious actions taken by China." Not acting puts at risk "our children and our children's children," he said. "We are certainly open to further discussions with the Chinese. We remain hopeful that China will come to the table with meaningful and concrete actions to address their market-distorting behaviors and ensure the level playing field that they committed to when they joined" the World Trade Organization. The USTR understands the "temporary challenges that these actions may create, yet we remain hopeful," Gerrish said.

USTR is taking other actions in response to unfair treatment of the U.S. too, he said. For example, the agency is reviewing Generalized System of Preferences benefits for Indonesia, India, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Turkey over market access barriers, he said.

USTR also is looking at "new bilateral trade agreements" with countries in Southeast Asia and Africa and is now reviewing "potential candidates for such agreements," he said. The new agreements will include provisions on "customs administration, the development and enforcement of standards, and other matters of interest to the customs broker and freight forwarder community," Gerrish said. "The administration also sees an opportunity to promote free, fair and reciprocal trade in the [World Customs Organization] by ensuring any new rules or best practices regarding online trade in goods and e-commerce reflect U.S. values and priorities, including on issues such as the de minimis threshold," he said.