The Trump administration is preparing to file an investigation into China’s compliance with a trade deal signed during President Trump’s first term, raising tensions ahead of a meeting between the countries’ leaders.
The Trump administration is preparing to file a trade investigation into China’s failure to uphold the terms of a trade deal signed in President Trump’s first term, according to two people familiar with the investigation, a move that could result in more tariffs and increased tensions between the United States and China.
The move follows weeks of strained relations between the world’s largest economies, and could be an effort by the United States to try to amass leverage ahead of a meeting next week between Mr. Trump and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The investigation, which could be announced as soon as Friday, would be filed by the United States Trade Representative under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the administration to investigate the trade practices of foreign countries.
The inquiry could pave the way for more tariffs on Chinese imports, although no such decision has been made. Such investigations have historically taken months to perform. A spokeswoman for the Office of the United States Trade Representative declined to comment.
The United States and China have been locked in a tit-for-tat trade battle that is dragging on both economies. Since Mr. Trump returned to the White House, he has added a 55 percent tariff on imports from China, with duties on some goods much higher. The Chinese government has responded with tariffs on American products, including on soybeans, resulting in a significant loss of business for American farmers.
After China announced new controls on global exports of rare earth minerals in recent months, Mr. Trump responded by threatening an additional 100 percent tariff on Chinese products starting Nov. 1, as well as export restrictions on American software. Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi are scheduled to talk in person on Oct. 30 on the sidelines of an international meeting in South Korea.
The Trump administration has repeatedly complained about China’s failure to comply with terms of a trade agreement signed in 2020. The agreement followed months of negotiations and the United States and China imposing tariffs on each others’ products.
In the deal, Chinese officials committed to buying an additional $200 billion worth of American goods and services, as well as opening markets to American companies and providing greater protection for American technology and trade secrets, among other trade changes.
But a subsequent analysis found that China fell far short of meeting its commitments. After the deal was signed, the pandemic hit and trade cratered. The Peterson Institute for International Economics calculated that, in the end, China bought only 58 percent of the American exports it had committed to buy under the agreement, not even enough to reach its import levels from before the trade war.
The Trump administration has blamed the Biden administration for failing to hold China to the terms of the agreement. But many analysts said the targets were unrealistic to begin with.
“China was never on pace to meet its purchase commitments,” wrote Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, who was an official under the Biden administration.
Ana Swanson covers trade and international economics for The Times and is based in Washington. She has been a journalist for more than a decade.