House Committee Proposes Revoking China’s Trade Status

By revoking China’s trade status, imports would not be subject to the United States’ standard tariff rates, which are the lowest of all WTO members.

The CSCL East China Sea container ship sits in a berth at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., on June 20, 2018. A 2023 study estimated that under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, tariffs decreased imports from China by 13 percent each year from 2018 to 2021. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party chairman Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) introduced a bill on Nov. 14 that would suspend normal trade relations with China, revoking the status Congress conferred on the nation in 2000 as it was about to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Restoring Trade Fairness Act would revoke China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Senate version of this bill earlier this year.