WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) sharply criticized President Trump’s proposal to lift penalties against Chinese telecommunications company ZTE and called for the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Commerce to provide a briefing on U.S.-China discussions.
In their letter to President Trump, Neal and Pascrell state that, “as a matter of your duty as President of the United States, responsible for U.S. economic, foreign, and national security policy, it is absolutely inappropriate for penalties assessed by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE to be traded off as part of any trade deal with China. We also write more broadly to convey serious concern over the apparent lack of coherent strategy in your administration’s engagement with China on matters of U.S. trade, economic, and national security policy."
The members reminded the President that “current discussions with China are a critical opportunity to use that attention to demand and secure some important, systemic changes to the U.S.-China economic relationship," and insisted that the administration should not “cut superficial deals with China that fail to address the unfair terms of China’s trade and economic relationship with the United States and the rest of the world."
Citing the lack of clarity surrounding the Trump Administration’s ongoing trade discussions with Beijing, Neal and Pascrell called for briefings and documents to clarify the U.S. strategy and China’s demands.
