China failed to live up to the first phase of its trade commitment to buy an additional $200 billion of U.S. exports, according to a new study.
In fact, despite agreeing to “Phase 1” of the trade deal brokered by former President Donald Trump two years ago, the Chinese Communist Party didn’t even spend a single additional dollar on U.S. exports.
[source: The Daily Wire]
Under the agreement, China said that it would buy at least $227.9 billion of U.S. exports in 2020, which would increase to $274.5 billion in 2021, totaling to $502.4 billion over two years. In reality, China only purchased just over half that amount.
Trump celebrated this trade deal in January of 2020, saying that it would be a welcome news for many U.S. industries, including agriculture.
The new trade deal tears down barriers for U.S. farmers!
President Trump: "China will now welcome American beef, and pork, poultry, seafood, rice, dairy, infant formula, animal feed, biotechnology and much, much more.” pic.twitter.com/BVytzEvHoa
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 15, 2020
The Biden administration is now criticizing the deal, calling it “unrealistic” and lacking a way to hold China accountable. White House official Brian Deese said that the Biden administration would hold China accountable for their commitments, but didn’t clearly explain what would be done differently.
“We’re taking a different approach. Number one, holding China accountable where they have made commitments to say if you’re not going to live up to these commitments we need to take a different approach. Number two, to really focus on those areas where Chinese action is posing strategic threats to our economy,” Deese said.
JUST NOW: "That agreement was flawed in multiple ways, including unrealistic commitments and not having a mechanism to hold China to account."
WH Official @BrianDeeseNEC on reporting China is $288 billion short in trade deal it made with Trump.
— John Berman (@JohnBerman) February 9, 2022
Multiple factors played into China’s failure to meet their trade commitments, beyond their own international economic ambitions which U.S. exports could potentially impede. These include the preceding trade war between the U.S. and China which meant that U.S. exporters were already running behind schedule, and more specific issues, such as two Boeing 737 Max crashes which halted production and resulted in canceled Chinese orders.
“President Trump’s trade war and phase one agreement did little to change China’s economic policymaking,” wrote the study’s author, Chad Brown. “Beijing seems intent on becoming more state centered and less market oriented.”
One of the trade deal’s objectives was to address Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property, and that China were aiming to “wait the Trump administration out,” with no likely intention of meeting the economic targets.
The Biden administration wants to destroy Trump so badly, they’re even willing to abandon American workers just to spite him.
Author: Sebastian Hayworth
