The United States is not looking for a new deal in its negotiations with China over trading practices but rather to address practices by Beijing that it finds objectionable, Washington's trade chief said Thursday.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (USTR) is pursuing talks with Beijing over the "phase one" trade agreement the countries signed two years ago, under which China committed to buying $200 billion in American goods through 2021 in exchange for relief from tariffs imposed by then-president Donald Trump.

Tai, who was appointed after President Joe Biden took office last year, told the Senate Finance Committee her talks with Beijing on its adherence to the deal have been "very difficult."

"I think that we're not necessarily looking at another deal in the next phase, but to expanding out our focus on China's challenges beyond its commitments and compliance in phase one to the issues that were not captured by phase one," she said.

Tai pointed to Beijing's "industrial targeting practices" that have allowed the country to "again and again, corner the market in critical industries and now increasingly in future industries."

Tai also called for the Senate to pass a bill the House of Representatives approved earlier this month that would end normal trading relations with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, one of a series of US measures targeting Russia's economy.

The bill, which also applies to Belarus for its support of the invasion and calls on USTR to work to have the two countries barred from the World Trade Organization, won nearly overwhelming support in the lower house of Congress but has been delayed in the Senate.

"We're only halfway there, and we have we have said the words but now we need to finish the act," Tai said.

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US to stress economic independence to counter 'unfair' China trade practices
Washington (AFP) March 30, 2022
The US should focus on achieving economic independence from China rather than pressuring Beijing to change "unfair" trade practices, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai will suggest Wednesday, as a shift in strategy toward the Asian giant. The new approach takes into account Washington's inability to force fundamental changes in business practices under a trade agreement signed by the previous administration, she will argue. "While we continue to keep the door open to conversations with China. ... read more