US tariffs on China over 'leverage' in trade talks, USTR Tai says | Malay Mail

> WASHINGTON, June 23 — US tariffs on Chinese goods offer a key element of leverage over Beijing which Washington should be reluctant to relinquish, the top American trade official said Wednesday. Progress with China's unfair trade practices has been "elusive," which makes the tariffs an important tool, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai told lawmakers. "The China tariffs are, in my view, a significant piece of leverage and a trade negotiator never walks away from leverage," she said in testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee. "The United States has repeatedly sought and obtained commitments from China, only to find that…