WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Wednesday said that she views tariffs on Chinese goods as “a significant piece of leverage” in the U.S.-China trade relationship and removing them would likely have a limited effect on short term inflation.
In testimony before a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Tai said that it was important to focus on the bigger picture of protecting U.S. trade interests against China’s plans to dominate important industries such as semiconductors.
“We need to be keeping our eye on the ball on this bigger picture,” Tai said.
(Reporting by David Lawder)
