Flushed from their successful campaign to scuttle the IPEF Trade Pillar, Senate Finance Committee Democrats Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Bob Casey (Pa) called on President Biden to keep in place the current Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs on imports from China.
The tariffs are important for combating anticompetitive behavior by China and other nonmarket economies, the two senators wrote in a letter to the President.
“These tariffs are essential to level the playing field for American workers to compete and counter unfair trade practices by China, which seeks to circumvent our trade laws, steal American technology, and cheat and bully its way to global economic dominance,” they wrote. “We urge the Administration to maintain the Section 301 and Section 232 tariff regimes as we continue our work with partners and allies to forge a sustainable approach to trade policy that supports American workers and fair global economic competitiveness.”
The letter was prompted by the Administration’s ongoing interagency review of Section 301 tariffs. “We write to share our serious concerns about reductions in the tariffs that will enable China and other global competitors to resume their anti-competitive activities without consequences.”
The two senators also raised concerns about a possible reduction in Section 232 on steel and aluminum from the European Union.
“The US should consider the Chinese government’s long-standing practice of using economic coercion and supply chain retaliation as a geopolitical weapon when taking action that could undermine efforts to shore up our domestic manufacturing and supply chains,” they wrote.
Read the full letter here
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