Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), joined by Senators Ted Budd (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL), and JD Vance (R-OH), introduced a plan to end permanent free trade with China. The plan, which is still in its early stages, aims to address concerns about China’s unfair trade practices and the decades-long negative impact they have had on American workers and businesses. The senators argue that China has not lived up to its promises to open its markets and level the playing field for American companies. They also point to China’s human rights abuses, intellectual property theft, and currency manipulation as major concerns. Since the U.S. authorized free trade with China in 2001, almost 4 million American jobs have been eliminated from the U.S. economy, as large companies ship jobs abroad with no penalty.
NEWS ROLLUP: GOP Senators Seek to End Free Trade with Communist China
By News Rollup; January 27, 2023
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), joined by Senators Ted Budd (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL), and JD Vance (R-OH), introduced a plan to end permanent free trade with China. The plan, which is still in its early stages, aims to address concerns about China’s unfair trade practices and the decades-long negative impact that they have had on American workers and businesses.
The senators argue that China has not lived up to its promises to open its markets and level the playing field for American companies. They also point to China’s human rights abuses, intellectual property theft, and currency manipulation as major concerns. Since the U.S. authorized free trade with China in 2001, almost 4 million American jobs have been eliminated from the U.S. economy, as large companies ship jobs abroad with no penalty.
The proposed China Trade Relations Act would end China’s permanent normal trade relations status, with the goal of creating a more balanced and fair trade relationship. The senators also propose implementing stronger enforcement mechanisms to hold China accountable for its trade commitments and taking a more aggressive stance on Chinese human rights abuses.
“For twenty years, Communist China has held permanent most-favored-nation status, which has supercharged the loss of American manufacturing jobs,” Cotton said in a statement. Budd supports the legislation, saying that this is “one of the most effective ways to push back” on the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses and economic dominance.
This proposal comes amid growing tensions between the United States and China on trade and national security issues, and it reflects a growing sentiment among lawmakers that the current trade relationship with China needs to be reevaluated.
Photo: Anna Rose Layden/Anna Moneymaker//STR/AFP via Getty Images/Al Drago/Bloomberg