Josh Hawley pushes for tariffs on China to be included in debt limit talks
Ryan King
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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is pushing to add tackling the trade deficit with China to the debt ceiling negotiations.
The Missouri senator unveiled his Raising Tariffs on Imports from China Act Wednesday, which would slap an additional 25% duty on all imported goods from China so long as there is a trade deficit recorded during the prior year.
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“Under Joe Biden’s leadership, the Administration has failed to confront the structural deficit that matters most — our trade deficit with China,” Hawley said in a statement. “Strong tariffs on China should be a major part of any debt ceiling agreement.”
House Republicans under Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have largely taken the lead in debt limit negotiations with President Joe Biden, demanding spending cuts in exchange for lifting the nation’s borrowing authority.
A group of 43 senators has signed a letter backing their House counterparts in the negotiations. Hawley’s signature was not included in the letter, which was sent to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) last week.
Nevertheless, Hawley appears to have aligned with those House GOP efforts. He indicated he was opposed to a short-term debt limit increase and previously proposed legislation to prevent Social Security and Medicare funds from being affected by the debt ceiling.
His bill would require the president to release data on the “total value of imports” from China into the United States, as well as the value of exports annually. It also gives the president power to rescind the duties in instances where the U.S. clinches a trade surplus with China.
Hawley has positioned himself as a leader of the populist wing of the GOP and has previously taken aim at China, including with a March bill proposal, the Ending Normal Trade Relations with China Act. The legislation comes during a period of strained relations between the U.S. and China.
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Biden, McCarthy, and other members of the “big four” congressional leaders met Tuesday to discuss the debt ceiling standoff. Those present indicated that little progress had been made, but they are expected to meet again Friday.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen forecast that the government is likely to run out of cash by June 1, posing the risk of an economic cataclysmic default.