‘We Will Use the Full Range of Tools’: Trade Representative Says U.S. Will Enforce Phase One Trade Deal with China

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, sign the U.S. China Phase One Trade Agreement Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the Biden administration would enforce the Phase One trade agreement negotiated by the Trump administration with China while giving a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Monday.

“For too long, China’s lack of adherence to global trading norms has undercut the prosperity of Americans and others around the world,” Tai said in prepared remarks. “China made commitments that benefit certain American industries, including agriculture, that we must enforce.”

China has fallen short on the purchase totals it agreed to as part of the agreement, increasing its purchases by only 69% as of July 2021, according to the non-partisan Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE).

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‘We Have a Deal’ Biden Announces Bipartisan Infrastructure Agreement

President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden announced Thursday he has reached a bipartisan deal on an infrastructure package.

Biden endorsed a proposal put forward by a group of 10 Senators, including Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Rob Portman and Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

“We have a deal,” Biden said, according to NBC News. “They have my word, I’ll stick with what they’ve proposed. And they’ve given me their word as well. Where I come from, that’s good enough for me.”

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