Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Friday that President Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Chinese goods is an “easy” move, and said it would show more strategic leadership if he could create a “positive trade agenda” for dealing with China.
“It’s easy to punish #China. It’s a lot harder to hold it truly accountable and change its behavior,” McCain posted to Twitter Friday. “That requires a real strategy and positive trade agenda, which is why the US should rejoin the #TPP11.”
It’s easy to punish #China. It’s a lot harder to hold it truly accountable and change its behavior. That requires a real strategy and positive trade agenda, which is why the US should rejoin the #TPP11.
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) April 6, 2018
That’s a reference to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement among Pacific nations, which Trump pulled out of last year.
Trump imposed tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from China, and then went further by saying he’s considering tariffs on up to $150 billion in additional Chinese exports because of China’s failure to respect U.S. intellectual property rights. China has responded by threatening tariffs of its own on U.S. goods.
