Time to De-Escalate U.S.-China Trade Conflict, Says USCIB

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at last year’s G20 Summit in Germany (White House photo)

Washington, D.C., April 6, 2018 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents America’s top global companies, is urging the U.S. and China to take steps to de-escalate their trade conflict. Responding to statements by President Trump and China’s commerce ministry over the past 24 hours, USCIB said both parties should seek to resolve their differences via established bilateral and multilateral mechanisms.

“China’s unfair trade practices and its mistreatment of U.S. and other foreign companies are serious problems,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “But an escalating, tit-for-tat trade war is not the way to solve them, and risks doing serious harm to the American and global economies.”

Robinson said both sides should seek to work constructively, tone down their rhetoric, and step back from threats to impose new trade barriers, which he said could rattle international markets, imperil future growth prospects and damage the global trading system. He urged the U.S. to use the multilateral mechanisms it has helped build over the years to defuse a looming crisis.

“We should be working with our allies, with other major trading nations, and via the World Trade Organization to apply pressure on China in a way that does not boomerang back to hurt U.S. farmers, workers, consumers and companies.”

About USCIB:

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world, generating $5 trillion in annual revenues and employing over 11 million people worldwide. As the U.S. affiliate of several leading international business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
jhuneke@uscib.org, +1 212.703.5043

Staff Contact:   Kira Yevtukhova

Deputy Director, Marketing and Communications
Tel: 202.617.3160

Kira Yevtukhova manages USCIB’s print and online publications, including the website, e-newsletter and quarterly magazine, and serves as the organization’s digital media strategist. Prior to this role, Kira worked for over five years within USCIB’s Policy Department, focusing on climate change, environment, nutrition, health, and chemicals related policy issues. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and has an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
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