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The Chinese Communist Party has destroyed millions of American jobs and stolen trillions of dollars in American intellectual property. By its own actions, Beijing has forfeited its preferential trade status with the United States. That is why we, along with Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio and Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley, have authored a comprehensive repeal of China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations. Our legislation would strategically decouple the U.S. and Chinese economies and end China’s economic war on American workers and businesses.
In 2000, our nation’s leaders granted Permanent Normal Trade Relations to China and provided the Chinese Communist Party with open access to the American economy. They believed China would become freer as it grew rich and that our companies would benefit from fair and free access to over 1.2 billion Chinese consumers. That simply has not happened.
Instead, the Chinese Communist Party is more repressive, and the Chinese people are less free. The Chinese government has committed every economic crime imaginable, treated our companies unfairly, and closed thousands of American factories. Since 2000, the United States has lost over 4 million manufacturing jobs, and it’s estimated that our country loses up to $600 billion in intellectual property theft every year, primarily to China.
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Beijing also uses its economic leverage to censor American leaders, American companies and even American movies, entertainment and news. Worst of all, China has used our stolen wealth to build the largest military in the world. Beijing could never have arrayed its present military might, without its economic exploitation of our nation.
The special trade relationship with China has hurt the US. FILE: In this Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020, photo, workers watch a container ship arrive at a port in Qingdao in east China’s Shandong province. (Chinatopix via AP)
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Over the course of five years, our legislation would gradually phase in 35% tariffs on non-strategic Chinese goods and 100% tariffs on strategically vital Chinese imports, while providing the president discretion to impose additional restrictions on critical imports.
The gradual increase of these tariffs would give American companies time to reshore their production in the United States, train American workers, and adapt to a new business environment free of Chinese corruption and abuse. Our legislation also closes the so-called “de minimis” trade loophole that allows China to send millions of packages into the United States every day completely tax-free.
Our legislation then uses the revenue from these tariffs to compensate businesses targeted by possible Chinese retaliation. While retaliation is expected, we must pursue the best policy for the American people and not allow the fear of what China might do to dictate what we do. Additional revenue from the tariffs would be used to strengthen our military and pay down our national debt.
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This bill would reset our relationship with China, create American jobs, rebuild U.S. manufacturing, secure critical supply chains, build up our military and enrich our economy. It would also end a more than 20-year-old economic policy mistake that has hurt the American people and enriched the Chinese Communist Party.
There is nothing normal about America’s current trade relationship with China and we cannot afford for it to be permanent. We look forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming Congress to begin a new chapter in US-China relations.
Republican John Moolenaar represents Michigan’s 2nd district in the United States House of Representatives where he serves as chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
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