Biden admin announces to revisit Trump-era trade agreement with China

Washington: The Biden administration will revisit the phase one trade agreement signed with China last year, a senior official said on Monday, asserting that the US Trade Representative will soon resume direct engagement with her Chinese counterpart to outline a new approach to the bilateral relationship.

In January last year, the US signed the first phase of the trade deal with China, which former president Donald Trump described as historic, concluding more than a year of tough negotiations including several months of suspension of talks between the two largest economies of the world.

The agreement was signed by Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, Politburo Member and Vice Premier of China. The first phase of the trade deal includes Intellectual Property (IP) Protection and Enforcement, ending forced technology transfer, dramatic expansion of American agriculture, removing barriers to American financial services, ending currency manipulation, rebalancing the US-China trade relationship and effective dispute resolution.

US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai is



scheduled to deliver a major policy address on this issue later in the day. “We will revisit the phase one agreement and emphasize that China must follow through on the commitments it has made. “Second, we will start a targeted tariff-exclusion process. We will also keep open the potential for additional exclusion processes in the future,” the senior administration official said ahead of her speech.

“Third, in the coming days, Ambassador Tai will resume direct engagement with her counterpart in China. This will include discussions with China regarding its commitments under phase one, but it will also be a chance for Ambassador Tai to reiterate that the United States will defend itself, using all available tools, from state-directed industrial policies that harm our workers, producers, and overall economic interests,” the official said.

According to the official, the Biden administration will work with its allies and like-minded partners towards building an international trading system that is fair and allows for  competition.