The U.S. isn’t ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports in the near future, but might be open to trade negotiations with Beijing, according to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. In her first interview since Senate confirmation, Ms. Tai said she recognized that the tariffs can exact a toll on U.S. businesses and consumers, though proponents have said they also help shield companies from subsidized foreign competition.
“I have heard people say, ‘Please just take these tariffs off,’” Ms. Tai said. But “yanking off tariffs,” she warned, could harm the economy unless the change is “communicated in a way so that the actors in the economy can make adjustments.”
“Whether they are companies, traders, manufacturers or their workers,” she added, “the ability to plan” for changes that affect their future is essential.
The negotiator also cited tactical reasons for her reluctance.
“No negotiator walks away from leverage, right?” she said.
Ms. Tai, 47 years old, is the first Asian-American and the first woman of color to serve as U.S. trade representative, and she comes to the job with a striking degree of bipartisan support—including a 98-0 confirmation vote by the Senate, the best showing for any of President Biden’s cabinet nominees.
She takes office during a time of rising violence targeting Asian-Americans. A gunman’s recent rampage in Atlanta left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent.
In the interview, Ms. Tai said she feels the weight of responsibility to lead and represent the Asian-American community as a cabinet member in the midst of “what feels like a fraying of our social fabric.”
She said, “What is extraordinary about our country is that someone like myself, who was born here, a child of immigrants from Asia, has been tapped on the basis of my experience and my qualifications to represent our country around the world.”