The Biden administration's decision to allow some Chinese imports to bypass tariffs that former President Donald Trump had put in place will cause hardships for U.S. companies, Rep. Rob Wittman said Monday on Newsmax.
"We want to make sure that our companies here are making products to sell not just here, but across the globe," the Virginia Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report." "When you unlevel the playing field by eliminating tariffs, you make it more difficult for our U.S. businesses to either start or to grow."
Further, he said, the tariffs Trump enacted should remain "unless there is a clear signal that the playing field is level and that our U.S. businesses can compete."
Last week, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said it will reinstate some tariff exclusions that expired at the end of 2020, which will allow companies to avoid taxes on products made in China that can't be obtained anywhere else, reports The New York Times.
Trump had put tariffs on $360 billion, but eventually allowed some products to avoid the tariffs. However, he would not extend the exclusions when he left office, and the Biden administration reinstated 352 of the 549 exemptions, eliminating the tariffs on them.
Meanwhile, Trump, while speaking Saturday in Georgia, said that China and Russia have been emboldened because of Biden's weak leadership, and Wittman told Newsmax he agrees.
"What we've seen through history is that peace is ensured through the strength of the countries that are in power across the world," said Wittman, noting that late President Ronald Reagan's adage about peace through strength is "incredibly important."
"When there is assertive and strong leadership, we don't see issues around the world where others try to take advantage of what's happening here in the United States," Wittman said. "I would argue that a strong United States military prevents these sorts of occurrences as we've seen in Russia with them in this unprovoked attack against the sovereign nation of Ukraine."
He said he thinks the same kind of behavior will be seen in China, which will want to take advantage of "any sign of weakness" from the United States.
The congressman also on Monday discussed Biden's proposed "billionaire's tax," saying he does not support its provisions, including taxing unrealized profits on investments.
"That's incredible that we would put in place a tax policy that actually penalizes investments," he said. "Why aren't we putting in place a tax policy that actually encourages investments, encourages the growth of businesses in the United States?
"A lot of these individuals have pass-through income that would end up in this category that will make their businesses suffer and make the employees in their businesses suffer. We need to have a tax code that encourages investment and encourages economic growth."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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