A group of lawmakers on Thursday reintroduced a bill in both the Senate and the House to suspend normal trade relations with China and codify higher tariffs on goods from the country.
It came after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum during his first day in office directing federal agencies to examine U.S. trade deficits and unfair trade practices by America’s trade partners, review economic trade relations between China and the United States, and assess bills regarding China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status.
In the Senate, Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) reintroduced the Restoring Trade Fairness Act, which aims to end PNTR with China. The status, conferred by Congress in 2000, allows China to enjoy trade benefits such as ultra-low tariffs.
Its companion bill was reintroduced in the House by Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), a member of the Ways and Means Committee and co-founder and chair of the Bipartisan Uyghur Caucus.
Tariffs introduced by the previous Trump administration and the Biden administration have effectively ended China’s PNTR benefits. The bill, if enacted, will phase in mandatory higher tariffs over a five-year period. […]
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