"We are pleased that the Trump Administration is taking the necessary steps to ensure our trading partners honor their commitments."
As the President prepares to depart for Asia, the Trump Administration today announced the launch of a new trade investigation into China’s failure to uphold the terms of the Phase One trade deal signed during the President’s first term. The investigation was filed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the Administration to investigate if a trading partner’s practices are harming the U.S.
“The initiation of this investigation underscores the Trump Administration’s resolve to hold China to its Phase One Agreement commitments, protect American farmers, ranchers, workers, and innovators, and establish a more reciprocal trade relationship with China for the benefit of the American people,” said U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer in a press release.
Data from 2022 showed China fell far short of its Phase One commitment to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of U.S. goods over two years, including American airplanes, soybeans, energy, and services.
“When the Phase One trade deal between the United States and China went into effect in 2020, the U.S. potato industry was pleased with this development as it concluded a 20-year effort to open the market,” said NPC CEO Kam Quarles. “As a result of this deal, we anticipated significant exports to China. Unfortunately, in the five and a half years since the agreement was reached, not a single container of U.S. chipping potatoes has been exported to China, nor has a single facility been approved by their government to use them.”
While no decision on new tariffs has been made, the Section 301 inquiry could lead to more tariffs on Chinese imports, a process that has historically taken months to complete. The original Phase One deal immediately halted the steady upward increases in tariffs between the two countries.
“We are pleased that the Trump Administration is taking the necessary steps to ensure our trading partners honor their commitments. We need to see a level playing field and believe that holding China accountable will ultimately benefit U.S. potato growers by reinforcing fair trade practices and pushing toward our goal of enhanced market access,” Quarles concluded.
