Trade expert: US has to remove tariffs to ease inflation

It’s high time the United States did away with tarrifs imposed on Chinese goods, as the latest data show that the consumer price index increased 9.1 percent year-on-year in June, said a senior trade expert.

John Gong, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, and a research fellow at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies, UIBE, made the remarks in an interview with China Daily on the record-high inflation in the world’s largest economy.

Gong pointed out that inflation has led to increase in prices of various goods, such as food, clothing, transportation and online shopping, hitting the working class more than the rich.

Also, he said, the tariffs were aimed at hurting China’s trade exports, but have hurt US consumers instead, as only prices have gone up while the demand for Chinese products in the US has not shrunk. He added that the rising prices will only increase pressure on the Biden administration.