Stephen Kho Discusses U.S.-China Trade Dispute on BBC
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Akin Gump international trade partner Stephen Kho appeared on the BBC’s World Business Report today, discussing the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. recently announced tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, and China responded by announcing $50 billion of tariffs on U.S. goods, with the Trump administration subsequently announcing that it was exploring an additional $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. Against this backdrop, Kho discussed the impact the escalating dispute would have on the trading relationship for both countries, whether the dispute qualifies as a “trade war,” and the effect on trade relationships of the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs on goods from other countries besides China.
Responding to a question of how easy these moves will be to enforce, Kho stated, “These are unilateral actions, so they are going to occur no matter what…[the] rules don’t seem to apply to these actions.”
With regard to whether he would classify the current environment as a trade war, Kho responded, “I don’t think so. Right now, there’s a lot of rhetoric and jostling for position…[but] once actions start to take place—and we are looking at July 6 as the date of action—followed by retaliation and back-and-forth tit-for-tat, at that point you’d probably call it a trade war.”
Asked whether President Trump has a point when he complains about China stealing U.S. intellectual property, Kho stated that he does, and that IP concerns were used for the original Sec. 301 action against China, However, “since then, there has not been a lot of talk about IP concerns. It’s been more talk about tariffs; there’s been a little bit about the China 2025 plan, but that’s about it.”
The segment also discussed retaliatory actions being taken by other countries in response to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, to which Kho responded, “Unfortunately, the U.S. has decided to pick a fight with a number of countries around the world all at the same time and on different grounds…[the] U.S. doesn’t seem to have a lot of friends right now.”
