As Co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, I was pleased to be at President Trump’s fair trade tariffs announcement at the White House on April 2.

President Trump deserves special thanks for demanding fairness and reciprocity in international trade and his strategic vision and actions to reindustrialize our nation, create jobs and boost economic prosperity.

Right now, there is one country, above all, which engages in egregiously unfair and predatory trade practices designed not simply to benefit themselves, but to harm our country.  That country is the People’s Republic of China under Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, which racks up ruinous trade deficits with the United States and seeks to undermine our industrial base.

Since May 1994—when Bill Clinton foolishly and shamelessly delinked human rights conditionality  and trade with China—until January 2024, our cumulative trade deficit with China has skyrocketed to a staggering $7.1 trillion. (census.gov)

Unlike previous presidents, President Trump fully understands the nature and scope of the problem—and the existential threat posed by China—and what needs to be done.

Under Xi’s dictatorship, China massively exports products to the U.S. while systematically blocking American made goods.  There is absolutely no reciprocity. Intellectual property rights are violated with impunity and American know-how and ingenuity often misused to enhance China’s military capabilities.

I went on C-Span the very day Bill Clinton ripped up his own executive order—May 26, 1994—and denounced the foolishness of thinking that through trade we could change a communist dictatorship that oppresses its own people, through the pervasive use of torture, religious persecution, mass internment, forced organ harvesting, forced abortion and an absolute stifling of any dissent, into a responsible partner, one that would respect intellectual property rights and abide by the rules of fair trade.

The idea that Communist China could be a responsible member of an international trade regime—the World Trade Organization—which should be premised on equal and fair trade, is a joke.  The PRC is a predatory, mercantilist command economy, where the State directs resources to not only favored industries, but favored “national champion” companies such as Huawei, where it makes intellectual property theft a practical condition of doing business in China, and where it utilizes slave labor to artificially depress prices and undercut our manufactured goods.            

That is why in 1999, I was the only chairman to hold a hearing pointing out the pitfalls of allowing China entry into the WTO.  I was opposed by members of both parties—Republicans and Democrats—who believed in the fantasy that by trading with China, it would matriculate magically into a democracy that respected international norms. 

I followed that up with a hearing in 2011, “Ten Years in the WTO: Has China Kept its Promises?”

The answer?

A resounding “No!” 

And still today, the answer is “No!”

Today, China exports fentanyl precursors to be processed by Mexican cartels, with money laundered through Canadian banks—including TD Bank—in order to poison our youth and wage asymmetric warfare against the United States. 

Imposing tariffs on Mexico will force them to live up to their obligations in combating fentanyl, as well as ending transshipment of Chinese manufactured goods over their borders to the United States.

The Wall Street Journal China’s Tariff-Dodging Move to Mexico Looks Doomed this week exposed this attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to circumvent tariffs.

I also applaud President Trump’s efforts to close the de minimis loophole.  Companies such as Temu and Shein rip off American designs, undercut our manufacturers by violating labor rights, produce shoddy goods that rip off the American consumer, and through their apps engage in data theft of sensitive personal information. I know work needs to be done to make sure our Customs and Border Protection and Postal Service are able to collect tariffs due on those goods, but I thank the President for initiating that.

Finally, President Trump is trying to break the PRC’s near monopoly on critical minerals and their processing, as well as to restore our energy independence. The last administration destroyed our energy independence and thereby enabled our adversaries, seeking a “green new deal” that meant slavish dependency on China for EV batteries and solar panels. 

This op-ed ran in the April 7, 2025 print edition of the Washington Times and can be found online at: