"When companies in China ship raw materials abroad, they put a tax on the raw material that comes from China," Biden stated on Wednesday. "That drives up the cost of those materials for the buyers in other countries and puts American companies at a disadvantage in competing to sell the products that need those raw materials."
Biden noted that the Obama administration had enforced existing trade laws more aggressively than any administration in the past, filing 22 cases with the World Trade Organization, of which 13 against China.
Distrust of US trade policies has surfaced as a key issue in the presidential campaign in the United States, with Republican candidate Donald Trump threatening to punish China for trade policies that violate existing agreements.
Rival candidate Hillary Clinton has abandoned earlier support for the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, which aims to expand US access to markets in 11 Pacific Rim countries.
