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US says China a threat to world trading system
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has slammed China's economic model for representing an "unprecedented" threat to the world trading system that cannot be addressed under existing global rules.
"There is one challenge on the current scene that is substantially more difficult than those faced in the past, and that is China," Mr Lighthizer said in a speech in Washington, reported Hong Kong's SCMP.
"The sheer scale of their coordinated effort to develop their economy, to subsidise, to create national champions, to force technology transfers and to distort markets in China and throughout the world is a threat to the world trading system that is unprecedented."
The World Trade Organisation and the rules that underlie the international trade arbitrator were not designed to deal with China's current approach to its economy, according to Mr Lighthizer.
Mr Lighthizer asserted that he doesn't want to jump to any conclusions from an ongoing US investigation into alleged intellectual property violations by China under Section 301 of the Trade Act. The provision allows the president to unilaterally impose tariffs and other restrictions to protect US industries from unfair trade practices by foreign nations.
The US official warned that changes are coming to a system that leads to trade deficits and fails workers.
"There has been a growing feeling that the system that has developed in recent years is not quite fair to American workers and manufacturing and that we need to change," he said. "We will have change in trade policy."
He repeated that the administration of US President Donald Trump prefers bilateral deals to multinational accords. It will pursue one-on-one trade pacts with Asian nations, after Mr Trump withdrew from a trans-Pacific deal in January, and through talks with the UK in the next year or two after it exits the European Union.
The US has already set in motion Mr Trump's promise to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement to tackle trade deficits. The US, Mexico and Canada are preparing for the third round of negotiations to revise the deal from September 23-27 in Ottawa.
"There is one challenge on the current scene that is substantially more difficult than those faced in the past, and that is China," Mr Lighthizer said in a speech in Washington, reported Hong Kong's SCMP.
"The sheer scale of their coordinated effort to develop their economy, to subsidise, to create national champions, to force technology transfers and to distort markets in China and throughout the world is a threat to the world trading system that is unprecedented."
The World Trade Organisation and the rules that underlie the international trade arbitrator were not designed to deal with China's current approach to its economy, according to Mr Lighthizer.
Mr Lighthizer asserted that he doesn't want to jump to any conclusions from an ongoing US investigation into alleged intellectual property violations by China under Section 301 of the Trade Act. The provision allows the president to unilaterally impose tariffs and other restrictions to protect US industries from unfair trade practices by foreign nations.
The US official warned that changes are coming to a system that leads to trade deficits and fails workers.
"There has been a growing feeling that the system that has developed in recent years is not quite fair to American workers and manufacturing and that we need to change," he said. "We will have change in trade policy."
He repeated that the administration of US President Donald Trump prefers bilateral deals to multinational accords. It will pursue one-on-one trade pacts with Asian nations, after Mr Trump withdrew from a trans-Pacific deal in January, and through talks with the UK in the next year or two after it exits the European Union.
The US has already set in motion Mr Trump's promise to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement to tackle trade deficits. The US, Mexico and Canada are preparing for the third round of negotiations to revise the deal from September 23-27 in Ottawa.
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