China to lose US trade status held for 20 YEARS in next crippling blow from Donald Trump
CHINA is set to see its most-favoured-nation trade status revoked by the US under plans put forward by a Republican senator.
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Tom Cotton, Republican senator for Arkansas, proposed legislation revoking China’s equal trade conditions with the US in retaliation for human rights and trades abuses. It is the latest US action taken against the Chinese government. US President Donald Trump has previously mentioned his desire to “decouple” the US economy from China.
Mr Cotton issued a press release along with the bill, which will be under consideration in the Senate and Congress.
He said: Twenty years ago this week, the Senate gave a gift to the Chinese Communist Party by granting it permanent most-favoured-nation status.
“That disastrous decision made the party richer, but cost millions of American jobs.
“It is time to protect American workers and take back our leverage over Beijing by withdrawing China’s permanent trade status.”
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The bill would allow China to maintain its MFN status, but it would be reviewed annually by the President and subject to Congressional approval.
It also includes a list of disqualifying factors for China’s status, including human rights abuses and trade abuses, but they can be waived by the President
This includes slave Labour, re-education prison camps, forced abortions or sterilisations and organ harvesting from prisoners.
Mr Cotton’s release also mentions religious persecution, harassment of expatriate Chinese who are critical of the government and the theft of intellectual property from Americans as disqualifying conditions for China’s MFN under the proposed bill.
China has recently been condemned for its reported human rights abuses in Xinjiang, where Uighur muslims have been subjected to human rights violations.
More than a million Uighurs in western Xinjiang are believed to be held in internment camps according to human rights groups and first hand accounts from escaped Uighurs.
Earlier this week, the US Customs and Border Protection issued an order blocking Xinjiang products due to allegations of force labour from the Uighurs.
Ken Cuccinelli, carrying out the duties of the deputy Homeland Security Secretary, said: “Communist Chinese China needs to close its concentration camps, set its captives free and end its state-sponsored forced labour program immediately. “Until they do, DHS will continue to block illicit goods and prosecute those who profit from them.”
Mr Trump has also hit out at China’s human rights abuses, and has been vocal in his criticism of Beijing’s human rights and trade record.
The President has ordered tariffs, which have totalled in value at more than $350 billion (£270.405 billion) in Chinese goods.
The World Trade Organisation has ruled Mr Trump broke global trade laws with the tariffs.
The WTO also found the tariff duties violated the WTO’s MFN principle.
Mr Trump has also raised the idea of “decoupling” the US economy from China.
He said during a Labor Day press conference: “So when you mention the word decouple, it’s an interesting word.
“We lose billions of dollars and if we didn’t do business with them we wouldn’t lose billions of dollars.
“It’s called decoupling, so you’ll start thinking about it.”