China Tariffs Expansion Must Be Reconsidered, Trade Court Orders

The Trump administration failed to adequately justify its decision to expand tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods, and the Biden administration must present a fuller explanation to keep them, a federal trade court said Friday.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in 2018 determined that the Chinese government’s policies or actions “related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation” were unreasonable or discriminatory and burdened U.S. commerce.

President Donald Trump cited this finding to impose duties under the authority of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. At first the duties applied to ...