International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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US-China Trade Relations

27 posts

Why Not Use the Phase One Deal's Enforcement Mechanism?

On Friday, USTR initiated a Section 301 investigation of "China’s implementation of the Economic and Trade Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China ('Phase One Agreement')."

How Should the U.S. Respond To China's Non-Market Practices?

In an interview last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent talked about the Trump administration's response to China's non-market practices. Part of this response, as he presents it, has been for the U.S. to pursue a specific version of state-led industrial policy as a defensive measure.

Jamieson Greer on Trade with China and the Iraq War

In a recent speech, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer offered the following thoughts on past U.S. government efforts to bring market economics to China.

U.S. State Capitalism as a Response to Chinese State Capitalism

In an interview last week, David Faber of CNBC pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on several Trump administration actions that could be characterized as "state capitalism": Faber: As somebody who's been around the capital markets for years, as you have been, I do wonder, how do

What Are the Critics of China's WTO Entry Objecting To?

In recent years, there have been some prominent voices out there criticizing the decision to allow China to join the WTO. One thing I have trouble understanding is what the critics see as the counterfactual: How exactly do they think the United States (or the world) would be better off

Unfinished Business: Bringing China Into the Club of Market-Oriented Countries

Given where U.S. trade policy is at the moment, this doesn't seem like the best time for my latest piece, which is called "Unfinished Business: Bringing China Into the Club of Market-Oriented Countries." But sometimes all you can do is lay the groundwork for the

Security Exceptions Redux

In April 2017, the US Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to evaluate the effect of imported steel and aluminium on national security. In 2018, the United States imposed Section 232 tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium products from several

More from the Biden Administration on Chinese Overcapacity

A couple months ago, I did a post on "Subsidies, Overcapacity, and Domestic Demand/Savings," in which I argued that, in the context of concerns about Chinese overcapacity, it would be better to focus on Chinese subsidies than on differences in U.S./China domestic demand and savings

The Anti-Neoliberal View of Where Things Went Wrong on China Trade

Farah Stockman of the New York Times recently had a piece about former Biden administration official Jennifer Harris. If I understand their views correctly, Stockman and Harris are part of a group of people who are skeptical of past "neoliberal" policies, whereas I -- as I mention here

U.S. Subsidies vs. Chinese Subsidies / Good vs. Bad Subsidies

At a press briefing with Ambassador Tai on the announcement that the Biden administration would maintain the Section 301 tariffs on China and add tariffs on a few additional products, a reporter asked the following question regarding U.S. vs. Chinese electric vehicle subsidies: The U.S. government is subsidizing