Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, one of 10 hopefuls with a chance to become the party's presidential bet for 2020, will end Donald Trump's ruinous trade war against China during his first day as U.S. president.
He will also resort to other, less destructive, means to counter what many American's perceive as China's anti-competitive practices.
On Thursday, O'Rourke released a trading plan to scrap Trump's tariffs on China while putting forward a slew of reforms meant to boost the productivity and protection of American workers.
Under this plan, O'Rourke proposes eliminating all of Trump's tariffs levied on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing abandoning tariffs on American products.
The former Texas congressman, who was narrowly defeated in a bid for senator in November 2018, will also push for changes to strengthen the powers of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He will also table measures to contain China's alleged unfair trade practices while entering into trade deals with stronger labor and environmental protections.
"Trade is not the problem -- Trump is," declared O'Rourke on Thursday.
"His trade war has been a disaster for American farmers and workers -- but it's on us to offer a compelling alternative."
Among the 10 remaining hopefuls vying to become the Democratic Party's presidential bet, O'Rourke has been the most vocal critic of Trump's trade war against China.
The WTO will play a major role in defending the U.S. and other nations from China. O'Rourke pledges to overhaul the WTO so this agency can better tackle currency manipulation, competition, industrial subsidies, and other anti-competitive activities.
O'Rourke says he will launch "an aggressive WTO case with other countries against China, arguing it has failed to live up to the specific commitments it made when it joined the WTO." If that does not work, he says he will act unilaterally to pressure China.
Highlights of O'Rourke's trade plan include:
* Ending Trump's tariffs on China on his first day in office as U.S. president.
* Pushing for changes at the WTO to better deal with issues such as China's alleged unfair trade practices; currency manipulation by other countries and climate change.
* Taking steps urging China to change its non-competitive behavior. These steps include limiting Chinese investment in some U.S. business sectors such as technology and limiting access Chinese companies have to the U.S. financial system.
* Including provisions that will make labor groups more involved in trade negotiations.
* Ensuring companies protect workers' rights to form unions.
O'Rourke will eliminate a provision in the 2017 Republican tax law that critics say encourages companies to outsource. He will also invest more in programs to boost American manufacturers.
Analysts note that getting China to change its trade policy will be a tough job for any U.S. president, as can be seen, by Trump's failure to end a trade war, which he boasted is good for the U.S. and "easy to win."
Since 2018, Trump has levied tariffs on about $550 billion in Chinese exports to the U.S.
