AAF: Trump Is Right On China Tariffs

AAF: Trump Is Right On China Tariffs

TO: China Hawks & Conservative Movement Leaders FROM: Tim Chapman, President, Advancing American Freedom DATE: December 4, 2024

TOPLINE: Yesterday, former Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech to the China General Chamber of Commerce, laying out a blueprint for the United States’ engagement with the Chinese Communist Party in a second Trump administration. You can read it here but I will provide you with the most important elements. Tariffs Are The Right Tool To Confront Chinese Aggression • Targeted tariffs are a proven tool to address decades-worth of Chinese wrongdoing at home and abroad. • By holding China accountable, the new administration can stop fentanyl from flooding into our communities, demand the release of political prisoners like Jimmy Lai (a good man whose only crime was standing up for freedom), and foster respect for America’s intellectual property. • Free Trade With Free Nations is a foundational principle, but China is not a free nation, and our national policy and posture must reflect that commonsense reality. Let’s Not Forget Who Changed The National Consensus On China: • The Trump-Pence Administration changed the national conversation around China. • For far too long, the leaders of both political parties had turned a blind eye to China’s many abuses on trade, military expansionism and human rights violations in the misguided hope that China’s newfound prosperity would inevitably lead to liberty. • China is the greatest strategic and economic threat facing the United States in the 21st Century. • Communist China is playing to win by any means necessary. The Biden Administration Largely Retreated On China: • Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, allowing China to pollute with impunity. Biden rejoined the Chinese-controlled World Health Organization without demanding a single concession. And Biden refused to hold China accountable for the coronavirus pandemic. Conservatives Must Stand Firm On Tiktok: • As a direct result of the bold steps of the first Trump administration, U.S. law now requires that TikTok divest itself from the Chinese Communist Party or be banned from operations inside the U.S. • Congress should not repeal the hard-won TikTok law. • The Trump Administration must uphold the law and force the sale of TikTok, defending the law against challenges in court as the legal process plays out. Strengthen Our Relationship With Taiwan: • The incoming administration should negotiate a trade agreement with Taiwan and encourage other free nations to follow. Never Forget -- Freedom Follows Faith: • There are more Chinese Christians than there are members of the Chinese Communist Party. • Despite Mao’s call for a “religion-free” communist China, God has different plans. BOTTOMLINE: America must stand strong in the face of China’s trade abuses and military provocations, resolute in defense of our interests and values, even as we hope that they will reciprocate with real reform and a renewed respect for America.

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