Carper, Cornyn React to China’s Initial Move to Join Pacific Trade Pact

Trade panel leaders continue their call for the U.S. to re-engage in the Asia-Pacific region on trade efforts 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, and Ranking Member John Cornyn (R-Texas) reacted to the news of China filing an application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), formally known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Senators Carper and Cornyn have both criticized the previous Administration’s decision to withdraw from the TPP, and in recent months have sounded the alarm of China’s push to join the pacific trade pact.

“It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that China is taking steps to strengthen their trade powers across the globe. For quite some time, we have been warning about China’s subtle yet deliberate moves to join the CPTPP – the very trade pact crafted to counter China’s trade influence that the United States mistakenly walked away from. And last week, we saw them take an affirmative step in that troubling direction.” the Senators said. “We’ve long believed that United States trade leadership is critical for our country’s economy and national security – and it’s clear that China is not waiting to assert itself in the region. The U.S. cannot afford to continue waiting in the hallway – we must get our seat back at the table to re-engage our Asia Pacific allies in trade.”

Background:

On May 6, Chairman Carper and Ranking Member Cornyn sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai calling for the U.S. to reassert trade leadership in the Asia-Pacific region by engaging again with allies to develop comprehensive, multilateral free-trade partnerships. On June 13, Carper and Cornyn penned an op-ed in the Washington Post arguing that the U.S. must re-engage our Asia-Pacific allies to forge multilateral trade partnerships that would counter China’s geopolitical rise in the region and benefit American manufacturers, farmers and small businesses.

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