US tariffs a necessary response to China’s trade practices, says Jake Sullivan
US national security adviser favours targeted duties as Donald Trump campaigns on raising them to 60 per cent on all Chinese imports
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan defended the Biden administration’s China strategy and broader foreign policy initiatives on Wednesday, as the White House heads into the final weeks before the election of a new president who will take charge in January.
Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Sullivan supported the administration’s continuation of tariffs on China, first imposed by Donald Trump, and its firm stance against Beijing’s diplomatic and economic practices.
As Election Day looms on November 5 – early voting has already begun – Trump, now the Republican nominee seeking a return to the White House, and his Democratic rival, US Vice-President Kamala Harris, have campaigned on their economic approaches.
Harris, promoting policies benefiting the middle class and controlling costs, has not discussed at length where she stands on tariffs, though last month she called Trump’s proposal “a sales tax on the American people”.
Sullivan – Harris’ colleague in the White House – argued Wednesday that Biden’s approach on China represented a return to “a tradition” of American foreign policy based on the concept of “self-interest rightly understood”.
