Lawmakers Encouraged, Cautious on New US-China Trade Deal
Several lawmakers offered a mix of praise and skepticism Oct. 30 when asked to assess the new U.S. trade deal with China.
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While awaiting further details on the agreement, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said that what "caught my attention first" is China’s reported promise to buy large amounts of soybeans, as well as other agricultural products. He believes such purchases would be “hugely helpful” to farmers in his state and other states if they materialize.
“That’s a big deal in my state,” Hawley told reporters. “Soybeans are huge because China's such a massive, massive market, and we produce so many. In Missouri, [soybeans are] either our number one or number two crop, depending on the year, but we as a country just produce massive amounts of soybeans.”
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., welcomed the trade deal but said it underscores the need to find alternative, more reliable export markets for American soybeans. “We shouldn’t be dependent on selling soybeans to Communist China,” Ricketts said in a statement.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., commended President Donald Trump’s efforts to reach the agreement but said he expects China to violate the terms. “I don’t trust anything China signs,” Scott told Export Compliance Daily. “China won’t comply with it. I’m proud of the president, he’s trying, but China never complied with anything.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said U.S. agreements with China tend to lack adequate enforcement mechanisms, and he expects the new deal will be no different. “Look on the enforcement side, there’s virtually no there there, and that’s what we’re looking at again,” Wyden told reporters.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, took a more positive view. "I don't have all the details of it yet, but it looks like it's as advertised, and I think it's going to do well for us," Risch told Export Compliance Daily.