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"For the moment, we have kept the tariffs in place that were put
in by the Trump administration ... and we'll evaluate going
forward what we think is appropriate," Yellen told the cable
news network, adding that Washington expected Beijing to adhere
to its commitments on trade.
Asked if tariffs worked, Yellen hesitated, then said, "We'll
look at that."
The White House last month said it would review all national
security measures put in place by former President Donald Trump,
including an interim trade deal with Beijing.
The deal eased tensions between the world's two largest
economies after a damaging trade war that U.S. experts estimate
led to a peak loss of 245,000 U.S. jobs, but most of the tariffs
remain in place on both sides.
China pledged to buy $200 billion in additional U.S. goods and
services over two years under the interim deal signed by Trump
in January 2020, but Beijing fell 42% short of its target for
last year, a recent study showed.
U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed to mend fences with U.S.
allies, but has toed a hard line on China, warning this week
that Beijing would pay a price for its human rights abuses.
"We're in the process of evaluating what our approach should be
toward China, but there are a range of issues where we see
unfair practices," Yellen told CNBC, citing concerns about
China's behavior on trade, forced technology transfers, and
subsidies to high-technology industries.
"We want to make sure that we do address and hold China to its
international obligations in these areas," she said.
There were also areas where the two countries needed to
cooperate, she said, such as working to end the pandemic and
combatting climate change.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Leslie
Adler and Karishma Singh)
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