Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) will introduce legislation on March 21 to revoke China’s permanent normal trade relations status with the United States.
“As we face a new age of competition with China, we need an agenda in Washington that will make our working class strong and independent,” Hawley told The Epoch Times on March 20.
‘Most-Favored-Nation’ Status
China has enjoyed normal trade relations status—also known as “most-favored-nation” (MFN) status—with the United States since the passage of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000.A year later, China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), and in the two decades since, the communist nation has become one of the United States’ largest trade partners.
“China never deserved this privilege in the first place, and China certainly does not deserve it today. It’s time to protect American jobs and hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for their forced labor camps and egregious human rights violations.”
Last year, the United States revoked Russia’s MFN status due to its ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Currently, the only other countries the U.S. denies MFN status to are Cuba and North Korea.
Hawley’s legislation marks the first bill he has introduced relating to his “Worker’s Agenda to Rebuild America.”
“When these jobs and factories disappeared, communities suffered. The unwinding of the social fabric in these forgotten places led to declining rates of marriage and fertility, and rising rates of addiction, divorce, and suicide. Policies that weaken working men and women in America and enrich the Chinese Communist Party must be repealed.”