New Democrat Coalition Members' Statement on China Trade Negotiations
New Democrat Coalition Trade Task Force Co-Chairs Rick Larsen (WA-02) and Gregory W. Meeks (NY-02) issued the following statement on President Trump’s trade negotiations with China:
“While we are relieved the administration is backing away from a trade war with China, the strategy only shows this administration's weakness in diplomacy by allowing China to buy their way out instead of making real reform. The administration accepted a soft commitment from China to import more American energy and agriculture goods. This is great on its face, but will hardly put a dent in the trade deficit with China. Also, we are concerned the Trump Administration is focused on a short-term trade deficit “fix” instead of pursuing long-term structural market access, intellectual property, and investment policy reforms within China. The latter priorities require a multilateral approach that the Trump administration has continued to undermine.
“Trade should be about setting strong standards, not about bargaining like you are at a flea market. Settling for noncommittal deals instead of long-term structural changes, is not a winning strategy. All the administration did is rearrange the deck chairs of the Titanic. And like the Titanic, sadly this strategy will also sink.”
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