Yesterday, Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA-01) and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-09) sent President Donald Trump a letter laying out their serious concern and dismay at the negative direction of the ongoing U.S.-China trade discussions. Specifically, the members cite the Trump Administration’s continued consideration of easing penalties imposed on Chinese telecom company ZTE, as well as reports that administration officials are pursuing superficial deals with China that ignore the structurally unfair terms of trade and competition with China.

“We have not been alone in our consternation over ZTE,” wrote Neal and Pascrell. “Members of Congress from the House and the Senate – both Democrats and Republicans – have registered their strong protest through letters like ours as well as statements and proposed legislation. And yet, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin continued on Tuesday to insist that your administration will revisit the ZTE penalties as a ‘favor’ to President Xi Jinping of China. In the meantime, press reports about Trump business interests in Indonesia recently securing a Chinese state-owned partner that could be bringing along $500 million in funding are, even when viewed in the best possible light, a very bad look.”

Today’s letter comes five days after the members sent a different letter to the President sharply criticizing his proposal to lift penalties against ZTE and calling for the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Commerce to provide a briefing on the U.S.-China trade discussions.

Neal and Pascrell reminded President Trump that his own administration’s Section 301 investigation found that “China is relentlessly pursuing its plan to be globally dominant by the year 2025 in fields ranging from artificial intelligence to biomedicine to next generation vehicles to aerospace.” The members warned the President that China “has demonstrated its ability to accomplish its goals effectively and in a short amount of time. China is a very serious contender. Settling for a deal to sell substantially more commodities and natural resources to China, without leveling the terms of competition in high value, cutting-edge sectors, is effectively to roll over and cede the future to China.”

Underscoring their serious concern with the direction of the Trump Administration’s discussions with China, Neal and Pascrell urged the President: “don’t sell America out and don’t sell America short. The current trajectory of your administration’s plans risks doing both.”

Full text of the letter is available HERE.