Pelosi Says U.S. Should Align With EU to Pressure China on Trade
Pelosi Says U.S. Should Align With EU to Pressure China on Trade
(Bloomberg) --
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats would be tougher on China than President Donald Trump by aligning with the European Union to bring additional pressure on the world’s second-largest economy.
Pelosi said in a roundtable Friday with Bloomberg reporters and editors that Trump was correct to identify China’s aggressive trade policy as a threat to the U.S. But she faulted his approach as ineffective and said he’s further hobbled the U.S. position by engaging in a trade conflict with the EU at the same time.
“We have leverage,” Pelosi said. “So, what did the president do? Alienate the EU by putting tariffs on them. So they’re now looking out for themselves vis-a-via us.”
She said the U.S. needs to be more “strategic,” moving trade policy beyond using tariffs as a primary weapon and instead engage allies like the EU that share U.S. interest as well as its complaints about China.
“It has to be more comprehensive so that China knows they can’t do this anymore,” Pelosi said.
Her remarks come as Trump is trying to conclude a “phase one” deal to ease the current trade war with China. However Chinese officials are casting doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term trade deal with the U.S.
The Trump administration has taken a mainly unilateral approach to the trade war with China, imposing tariffs on some $360 billion in imported Chinese goods to try to force economic reforms.
So far, though, it has had limited success, if any. While the tariffs have forced many companies to contemplate shifting supply chains out of China the Trump administration has yet to deliver the sort of comprehensive change in Chinese behavior it has sought. Trump last month abandoned his push for a one-time and all-encompassing deal with Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart. He has instead opted to try to do it in phases, the first of which he wants to sign in the coming weeks.
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Pelosi joins other Democrats, including those running for president in 2020 like former Vice President Joe Biden, who argue that Trump has weakened his hand with China by concurrently waging trade battles and imposing tariffs against long-standing allies like the EU. Critics say Trump’s use of tariffs - and the retaliation it has provoked from China and the EU among others - has also hurt U.S. farmers and workers.
In addition to a trade war with China, Trump last year imposed sweeping tariffs on European steel and aluminum and has threatened to hit European car imports with a duty of up to 25%, arguing that they are a national security risk. He’s due this month to make a decision on the latter.
The U.S. also imposed tariffs on $7.5 billion of EU goods, ranging from planes to spirits, after the Trump administration won a longstanding World Trade Organization case involving aircraft subsidies. The EU has pledged to hit back with its own tariffs, risking a further escalation of tensions.
--With assistance from Shawn Donnan.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jenny Leonard in Washington at jleonard67@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo
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