A congressional panel has recommended that the U.S. toughen its trade relationship with Beijing, pushing to roll back a nearly 25-year-old decision that helped bring about China’s rapid economic growth but that many in Washington now see as hurting U.S. interests.
In its annual report to Congress released Tuesday, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission called for the first time for ending permanent normal trade relations with Beijing.
It echoes moves by prominent Republican lawmakers — including Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state — as the trade war with China is expected to intensify under the incoming administration.
The change would mean the U.S. reintroducing annual reviews of China’s trade practices and gaining more leverage to address “unfair trade behaviors,” the commission said in the report.
“This move would signal a shift toward a more assertive trade policy aimed at protecting U.S. industries and workers from economic coercion,” the report said.
It is among nine pages of recommendations put forward by the commission, created in 2000 to monitor the national security implications of the new trade relationship between Washington and Beijing.