Investigation to probe Chinese trade practices

As President Donald Trump left for a tour of Asia last week, his administration announced a trade investigation into China’s apparent failure to uphold the terms of the Phase One trade deal signed in 2020.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) filed the investigation Oct. 24 under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows an administration to investigate if a trading partner’s practices are harming the U.S.

China has not lived up to commitments “with respect to non-tariff barriers, market access issues, and purchases of U.S. goods and services,” according to the filing.

Data from 2022 showed China fell short of its Phase One commitment to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of U.S. goods over two years, including American airplanes, soybeans, energy and services.

“When the Phase One trade deal between the United States and China went into effect in 2020, the U.S. potato industry was pleased with this development as it concluded a 20-year effort to open the market,” National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles said in a statement. “As a result of this deal, we anticipated significant exports to China.

“Unfortunately, in the five and a half years since the agreement was reached, not a single container of U.S. chipping potatoes has been exported to China, nor has a single facility been approved by their government to use them.”

USTR will hold a hearing in connection with the investigation on Dec. 16.

Persons wishing to appear at the hearing should submit a request, written comments and a testimony summary by Dec. 1 through an online portal that will open Oct. 31.

“We need to see a level playing field and believe that holding China accountable will ultimately benefit U.S. potato growers by reinforcing fair trade practices and pushing toward our goal of enhanced market access,” Quarles said.