DeSantis attacks China in policy for U.S. economic independence

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, unveiled Monday a broad economic policy zeroing in on China’s rise, pledging that if elected to the White House he would end normal trade relations with the Asian power to protect working families in the United States.

Releasing the policy, called the “Declaration of Economic Independence,” at a New Hampshire campaign event, DeSantis suggested it was a mistake for the United States to have welcomed China into the World Trade Organization in 2001 and given it the most preferential trade terms.

Contrary to Washington’s expectatio...