Hawley to Introduce Bill to Revoke China’s ‘Sweetheart’ Trade Status

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) at a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Sept. 13, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) will introduce legislation on March 21 to revoke China’s permanent normal trade relations status with the United States.

If passed, the Ending Normal Trade Relations With China Act of 2023 (pdf) would withdraw China’s normal trade relations status within two years, subject Chinese imports to higher tariffs, and afford the president the authority to increase duties even higher.

“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.

“We can start by revoking the sweetheart deal D.C. elites handed to China 23 years ago—end normal trade relations, put in place strong tariffs, and protect American workers.”

‘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.

Hawley’s bill follows the introduction of similar legislation—dubbed the China Trade Relations Act—in January by Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Rick Scott of Florida, Ted Budd of North Carolina, and J.D. Vance of Ohio.

“For 20 years, Communist China has held permanent most-favored-nation status, which has supercharged the loss of American manufacturing jobs,” Cotton said in a Jan. 27 statement.

“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.”

But while that bill—like Rep. Chris Smith’s bill in the House—would require China to seek annual presidential approval to maintain its MFN status, Hawley’s measure would go a step further, permanently revoking that status.

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.”

“Providing China privileged trade status contributed to the loss of 3.7 million good jobs across manufacturing industries in America,” Hawley’s office noted in a statement on March 20.

“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.”

Eva Fu contributed to this report.