The Biden administration is reviewing the U.S.-China Phase One agreement, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed to reporters Friday.
The new administration is approaching the U.S.-China relationship “from a position of strength, and that means coordinating and communicating with our allies and partners about how we're going to work with China,” she said. “Everything that the past administration has put in place is under review, as it relates to our national security approach, so I would not assume things are moving forward.”
This sparked concern that the Biden administration could walk away from the Phase One agreement, but Doug Barry, spokesman for the U.S.-China Business Council downplayed those worries. “We don't read too much into the process at this point,” Barry told Reuters. “China has 11 more months to fulfill its promises to purchase an additional $200 billion in U.S. products.”
The review is not a surprise and matches what sources signaled months ago would take place under the Biden administration. Plus, the agreement's purchase commitments cover two years — 2020 and 2021 — and other actions in the agreement have already been implemented relative to U.S. agriculture and other trade matters which have seen China undertake structural changes that would negatively impact prospects for U.S. agricultural and other trade.