USA: Little change seen in ‘new approach’ on China trade

California agricultural exporters looking for improved U.S.-China trade relations—and lifting of Chinese retaliatory tariffs on farm goods they hope to sell to the Asian market giant—may need to hang tight. Some farm groups welcomed remarks last week by U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai on the Biden administration's "new approach" to the U.S.-China relationship. Tai said she plans to discuss with China its commitments under last year's U.S.-China Phase 1 trade agreement, though offered few details. "We will use the full range of tools we have and develop new tools as needed to defend American economic interests from harmful policies and practices," she said. "She very carefully said nothing," said Dan Sumner, an agricultural economist at the University of California, Davis. He said he took Tai's comments to mean there would be no significant changes from how the administration has approached trade policy during the past nine months, "which was no change from ...