Any final agreement brokered by Washington and Beijing to end the trade war will be specific, measurable and enforceable at all levels of Chinese government, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said during testimony before the House Ways and Means committee on Wednesday, Trend reports referring to South China Morning Post.
“In the agreement it will say ‘central’, ‘sub-central’, ‘local’”, the top US trade negotiator said, referring to various levels of governance in China. “It’s got to be across the board like that.”
“We have to have the ability to take proportional action unilaterally to make sure that we have a situation where [China is] following the contract”, he said.
Lighthizer’s testimony before the panel the principal source of legislation on American customs duties and international trade agreements - comes as China and the US try to strike a deal to end the months-old trade war.
His appearance marked the first time the US House of Representatives – now controlled by the Democratic Party – has formally investigated US President Donald Trump’s China trade policy.
Tensions between China and the US have eased somewhat since Trump said on Sunday he would delay plans to raise tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese goods if no deal was reached by March 1.