March 20, 2019
Expressing optimism that a trade deal can be struck with China, President Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. would keep Section 301 tariffs in place “for a substantial period of time” to ensure Beijing lives up to its commitments.
In remarks to reporters at the White House, Trump said “We’re not talking about removing them, we’re talking about leaving them for a substantial period of time because we have to make sure that if we do the deal with China that China lives by the deal.”
“They’ve had a lot of problems living by certain deals,” he added.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said last week that a U.S.-China trade deal would include an enforcement mechanism that allows the U.S. to impose tariffs without Chinese retaliation.
“If we designate that they are not in compliance, we will resort to tariffs in a proportionate way and the Chinese have agreed not to retaliate,” Kudlow said on C-SPAN, though he added that the mechanism was still awaiting “final sign-off.”
The enforceability of any deal with China that includes significant commitments to change its behavior and practices is a key concern for some U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.
Last month Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged Trump not to get “played” by China and accept a weak deal.
“If you don’t achieve what you set out to achieve – namely the permanent reform of China’s most abusive trade practices – then walk away,” he said on March 11.
“The Chinese have done everything they can to gain advantage over us, to steal our jobs, steal our wealth, they have not played fairly and now the president, with his tariffs, has them where we would want them,” he added. “They need to come to an agreement. But they’re hanging tough, and the president’s inclinations seem to be from press reports to back off so he can get any deal and so the stock market will go up temporarily.”
Trump noted on Wednesday that top U.S. officials, led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, were slated to travel to Beijing next week to continue talks.
