Washington, D.C. – Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) released the following statement after the United States Trade Representative announced that the Administration will impose additional tariffs on Chinese products:   

“President Trump is clearly ratcheting up the pressure on China to come to the table and begin crafting a new trading relationship that is fairer to American farmers, workers, and businesses. The sooner President Xi and President Trump meet to craft a new trade path forward, the better. There is no disagreement between Congress and the President that we must hold China accountable for hurting U.S. companies and workers on a colossal scale by extorting our companies to transfer their best technology, stealing our intellectual property, and shoring up China’s state-run companies through subsidies and other distortive practices. 

“Any time tariffs are imposed I worry that Americans will be forced to pay extra costs – in this case on nearly half of U.S. imports from China. I continue to emphasize that the ultimate means to create an effective outcome is for President Trump and President Xi to engage constructively to develop a long-term and profound solution that levels the playing field for American manufacturers, farmers, and workers. 

“Until China comes to the table, one way to relieve pressure on Americans is establish an effective and timely process to allow products to be excluded from these additional tariffs if tariffs would make it harder for us to sell more ‘Made in America’ products globally.”