Trump’s trade war regrettable; not right way to address issue: Former US commerce secy Gary Locke

Washington, July 11: Former US secretary of commerce Gary Locke in an interview to China's CGTN has described the Donald Trump administration's decision to launch a full-fledged trade war against China as "regrettable".

Locke, a Chinese American who served as the secretary of state between 2009 and 2011 and also a former American ambassador to China (2011-14), said in the interview that the decision to impose tariffs is a "terrible way" to address the US's economic concerns for he felt trade war produces no winners.

The trade war, which was initiated by Trump earlier this year by targeting Chinese imports worth billions of dollars, saw China also retaliating and the impact has been felt by the business industry and consumers on both sides of the Pacific.

As per a study by Brookings Institution, Washington state itself has major links with the Chinese in terms of trade with over half of its workforce employed in sectors at least partially attached with trade, the CGTN report said.

Locke, 68, who also served as the governor of Washington state (1997-2005), urged both Washington and Beijing to engage with each other and resolve their differences. The Democrat also said that the current US administration should hold "intensive discussions" with China and not engage in confrontation with Beijing as well as Washington's other allies, the CGTN report added.

Trump, it may be mentioned here, has also targeted the US's tested allies like Canada, Japan and the EU over the trade war, even threatening to scuttle regional free trade agreements like Nafta.