“Given the impact that consumers in the US are feeling for goods and services, anything that we can do to address supply chains — getting goods on shelves for the American consumer and lowering the price — is a good thing,” representative Ami Bera said.
Bera, a Democrat representing a California district, is the chairman of the House Foreign Affair subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation.
In July 2018, the US slapped a 25% tariff on US$34 billion worth of Chinese products, including machinery, and eventually imposed additional tariffs on US$370 billion worth of products. The Biden administration is now considering rolling back some as a way to ease inflation, which reached over 9% in June.
“It may be a temporary reduction in tariffs, or it may be a temporary reduction on certain items until markets get back to normal,” Bera said.
Supply chain disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine continue to roil markets worldwide.
Despite the support for easing tariffs, Bera is still focused on the US-China rivalry. Last month, he introduced bipartisan legislation with Republican Rep. Steven Chabot to secure the necessary resources for diplomacy and development assistance in the Indo-Pacific.
The Biden administration has since announced plans to establish an embassy in Kiribati and Tonga in response to China’s growing clout in the Indo-Pacific.
“I’m happy with the announcement of establishing some embassies,” Bera said.
He expressed concern over China negotiating a security pact with the Solomon Islands.
“Even though the Solomon Islands say that that’s not to have a Chinese military presence there, we’ve seen entire places where China, once they get a foothold, will extend this,” he said.
“That’s why it’s important for us to be present” in the Pacific, he added, urging the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand to bolster diplomatic and economic outreach to small island nations in the region.
When asked about Japan’s plans to increase defence spending, he said, “I don’t want to comment on what the right percentage is (in relation to gross domestic product) because I think that’s an internal Japanese decision.”
But Congress, as well as the Biden administration, appreciates that “Japan sees the strategic geopolitical threats in the region,” he added.
The US and Japan can “share some of the burden for the security of the region,” he said.
Bera also said, “Many members of Congress feel like we should support Taiwan as they build up their own self-defence capabilities.”
“I think you’ll see multiple different bills that are out there, building off the basis that’s in the Taiwan Relations Act, which sets up a foundational principle that the people of Taiwan should be able to determine their future and their path forward,” he said.