USTR Lighthizer Offers Harsh Trade Criticism of China

China represents an "unprecedented" threat to the world trading system, a threat that current world trade structures like the WTO are not equipped to handle, according to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer."China is a threat to the world trading system that is unprecedented," Lighthizer told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in wide-ranging remarks on trade and the administration's views on trade policy. The U.S. needs to "make it expensive" for China and other trading partners "to engage in non-economic behavior" that hurts American companies and workers, he observed.While admitting that macroeconomic developments are factors in the U.S. trade deficit, Lighthizer said the administration was still looking at all trade agreements the U.S. has to bring trade more into balance.The Section 301 investigation into Chinese practices on technology could result in a formal complaint at the WTO even as Lighthizer also signaled the world trade body was not well equipped to handle China and he sought to downplay the potential for positive results out of an upcoming ministerial meeting. "If we turn up WTO violations, we'll bring them to the WTO," Lighthizer stated. "We're not precluded from doing that, by any means."