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Opinion
China and Donald Trump have a problem. On trade, US Democrats may be even more hawkish
- The US president opened the door to the trade war but may not be able to shut it – now both parties in Washington and allies abroad are pushing for massive changes to China’s economy
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Robert Boxwell has worked and lived in the Asia-Pacific region since the early 1990s.
On February 27, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified in front of the House Oversight and Reform Committee in a hearing that could have been called “Trump Bashing Day 767” (of which, truth be told, I’m an occasional participant in the US press).
Meanwhile, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was two blocks away, testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee in a hearing called simply “US-China Trade”. Ways and Means has jurisdiction over tariffs, which is why it was interviewing Lighthizer. Committee members were civil and polite and, almost to a person, thanked him for the work he’s doing.
Practically all of them also urged him not to go easy on Beijing.
Chairman Richard Neal opened by saying, “This hearing is our opportunity to make clear what Congress stands for on US-China trade, and what the American people need to see” in any agreement with China. “This administration … must hold out for a good deal – a structural deal. The future of America’s economic prosperity is at stake.”
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