New US-China Trade Plan Leaves Industry Hungry for Specifics

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on May 12, 2021. Pete Marovich/Pool via Reuters

WASHINGTON—Having waited eight months for U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai’s promised “top-to-bottom” policy review of trade with China, some U.S. industries and experts were complaining about the plan’s lack of specifics on negotiations or timing.

Unveiling her plan on Monday, Tai, President Joe Biden’s top trade official, pledged to hold talks with Chinese officials over their failure to meet the terms of former President Donald Trump’s “Phase 1” trade deal, and to revive a process to grant exclusions from tariffs on Chinese imports.