Sen. Warner on Chinese tariffs

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Senate Banking and Finance committees, issued the below statement regarding the Trump Administration’s  announcement that it will impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese technology imports in response to China’s theft of intellectual property, the forced transfer of American technology, and cyber attacks.

“I share the President’s concerns about China. For years, Chinese companies pushed and enabled by the Chinese government have cheated American workers and stolen valuable intellectual property from U.S businesses with few repercussions. While we simply cannot let China’s unfair trade practices go unchecked, this President’s erratic approach to resolving this issue gives me pause. His Administration’s friendliness toward ZTE, in spite of warnings from his own top intelligence officials that the telecom company poses a national security threat, is particularly concerning. Instead of taking steps that antagonize our allies and threaten the well-being of Virginia’s agricultural community, the President should focus on building international support to apply greater pressure on Beijing and end these unfair trade practices once and for all.”