US Commerce secretary nominee Gina Raimondo pledges ‘aggressive’ measures on China

Gina Raimondo, nominated by US President Joe Biden for Secretary of Commerce, pledged on Tuesday during a Senate confirmation hearing, to be tough on China for its “anti-competitive” trade practices.

“Should I be confirmed, I plan to be very aggressive, to help Americans compete against the unfair practices of China,” she said, as per AFP reports.

She added that China had “clearly behaved in ways that are anti-competitive, dumping cheap steel and aluminium into America, which hurts American workers and hurts the ability of our companies to compete.”

She also noted that she supported President Biden’s position that the United States would attempt to restore fair trade with Beijing, along with the support of its allies.

Though she did not commit to keeping Chinese companies such as Huawei on the US blacklist pose a risk to US national security, she did, however, promise “to protect Americans and our network from Chinese interference”.

During the Trump administration, the commerce department cracked down on Chinese tech giants suspected of ‘compromising US national security’. Former commerce secretary Wilbur Ross added to the list of companies that can’t trade with US companies without a prior license, including Chinese telecom giants like Huawei and ZTE in the blacklist.

In December, Chinese computer chip maker Smic was also added to the list, due to its alleged links with the Chinese military.