[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 7 (Monday, January 13, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         China Trade Agreement

  Madam President, finally, on China.
  Later this week, China and the United States will participate in a 
signing ceremony for a so-called phase one of the trade agreement, in 
which President Trump has agreed to cut some tariffs on Chinese goods 
in return for temporary assurances with China to buy more agricultural 
products from the United States.
  After 18 months, the President's phase one deal with China is 
stunning in how little substance it achieves at such a high cost. It 
fails to address deep structural disparities in our trade relationship 
with China--disparities that will harm American workers and businesses 
for years. It also seems like this deal could send a signal to Chinese 
negotiators that the United States can be steamrolled and that 
President Trump can be played every time.
  Now, I have publicly praised President Trump when he has taken a 
tough stance with trade negotiations with China at some political risk. 
I have said his instincts on China were even better than President 
Bush's and Obama's. So I come to this as someone who is truly rooting 
for the President to succeed. For these reasons, I am even more 
disappointed in what President Trump has managed to achieve--or, 
rather, failed to achieve.
  According to public reports and by the administration's own 
admission, this deal does little to end China's greatest trade abuses. 
It does not secure commitments on state-sponsored cyber theft, China's 
massive subsidies to domestic industries, preferential treatment to 
state-owned enterprises or dumping Chinese goods into the U.S. market.
  In signing this agreement, President Trump removes our most effective 
source of leverage in exchange for mediocre, temporary agriculture 
concessions, which may not even come to pass, given China's past 
history. Essentially, President Trump is selling China the farm in 
exchange for a few magic beans--in this case, soybeans.
  The American people need to understand exactly what is in this phase 
one deal before the United States agrees to continue negotiations with 
China. So today I am sending the President a letter with a series of 
crucial questions: What commitments, if any, has China made with regard 
to its harmful government subsidy programs? What commitments, if any, 
has China made concerning their state-owned enterprises? What about its 
practice of dumping products into our markets or their state-sanctioned 
cyber theft? What help will be afforded to our farmers who have lost 
billions in the last 2 years, when China has already signed many long-
term contracts with other soybean producers in places like Argentina 
and Brazil?
  These issues must be resolved before we move forward, but I fear that 
after months of costly negotiations, President Trump--facing the 
election--has sold out American farmers, businesses, and workers in 
exchange for a photo op.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.