A timely piece in the context of the discussion in the U.S. about rolling back the previous administration’s China tariffs.
Jennifer Hillman, a senior fellow for trade and international political economy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, provides useful context on where China-U.S. trade relations have come from, and some suggestions for a constructive way forward.
She begins by reminding why the Clinton administration were so keen to help China join the WTO back in 2001. Partisans have imagined it was about helping China transition to a freer more democratic place and so, on that assumption, accession has been a failure. Not so fast argues Professor Hillman, there were other considerations at that time too.
Moreover, the U.S. didn’t foster the process with eyes wide shut. In the event of Chinese misbehavior it was to be held accountable via established protocols for dispute resolution at the WTO; and it’s here where problems began.
The world trading system was largely created by the U.S. in the context of a post-WWII dynamic where nobody objected to a just (in theory) hegemon acting as both major player and referee; but things changed.
The paper catalogues a list of Chinese misbehavior that went unchecked by the U.S. after China’s WTO entry which should have been vigorously (and justly) challenged in the context of established and agreed to rules; but weren’t.
China, not unnaturally, saw a gap in the fence and went through. Moreover, China today isn’t the China that joined the WTO over 20-years ago. It’s become more authoritarian and internationally more assertive, realities which also have to be stirred into any fix-mix.
Jump to the Conclusion on P.20 for the suggestions for constructive engagement. In short the Professor recommends America get back to a more active participation in not just the WTO but other global trade bodies that now exist and work with partners on a consistent and coordinated approach to managing an at-times out-of-control China.
The proper fix will require intelligent engagement, tact, diplomacy and patience. An approach the optimist in me tells me America is capable of, having now tried the unsatisfactory alternative.
You can access the paper in full via the following link A Mistake for the United States?
Happy Sunday