Ranking Member Shaheen, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic Members Publish Major Report Warning President Trump Has Weakened U.S. in Competition with China Ahead of[...]

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released a new report examining how the Trump Administration's approach to China has imposed growing economic costs on American families while strengthening Beijing's global position. The report comes as President Trump plans to travel to Beijing at the end of this month, while in a significantly weaker position because of his actions over the last year.

The 56-page report, titled "The Price of Retreat 2.0: Undermining America's Economic Edge and Alliance Advantage," is based on official staff travel, committee oversight activities, open-source research and insights from meetings with foreign government officials, American companies and international non-governmental organizations. The findings are stark. The economic costs of President Trump's handling of the U.S-China relationship continue to mount for American families, and the diplomatic consequences are visible across every region of the world. Beijing has moved aggressively to exploit America's retreat. As the report outlines, the Administration's tariffs and economic policies have increased costs for American households, destabilized global markets and placed new pressure on U.S. manufacturers and farmers while failing to produce meaningful changes in Beijing's behavior.

"This report makes clear that the consequences of the Trump Administration's global retreat that we warned about last year are no longer theoretical-they are being felt by American families and businesses every day," said Ranking Member Shaheen. "The Administration's trade wars, cuts to innovation and weakening of our alliances are not strengthening America's position against China, they are undermining it. At a moment when the United States should be reinforcing our economic leadership and global partnerships, these policies are giving Beijing an opening to expand its influence. As President Trump heads into his meetings with President Xi later this month, his own policies have profoundly diminished America's competitive advantage against China. The President will have a weak hand to play in Beijing, and it is the American people who will pay the price."

The report highlights key areas where America's competitive advantage has suffered:

• Hurting America's Economy and Undermining the U.S.'s Innovation Ecosystem: The Administration's fluctuating tariffs have devastated America's small businesses, forcing layoffs of 120,000 workers in November 2025, the largest monthly total in five years. Since President Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs, the American economy has lost a net 19,000 jobs. President Trump's decision to allow the sale of cutting-edge semiconductors to China will undermine the United States' long-term economic edge. The Administration's travel bans, visa policies and cuts to funding for science have forced worker shortages in critical national security sectors-particularly in the cyber, microelectronics, and precision mechanics sectors, among others-and have driven top talent to well-funded research programs and scholarship opportunities at universities outside the United States. Meanwhile, China is expanding visa categories and business opportunities for international professionals in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and Chinese universities have now surpassed U.S. counterparts in scientific output.
  
  
• Dismantling the Diplomatic Toolkit: More than half of U.S. embassies overseas are currently without a Senate-confirmed ambassador. In 2025, the Administration also rescinded over $14 billion in foreign assistance funds, significantly curtailing U.S. influence abroad with drastic human consequences. In contrast, China has ambassadors at nearly every diplomatic outpost, fields the world's largest diplomatic corps and posted record investments in 2025 under its Belt and Road Initiative. Billions in U.S. taxpayer dollars were shifted into slush funds as positions tasked with preventing waste and fraud were dismantled. Under Secretary Rubio's leadership, the United States has wasted, rather than saved, taxpayers' dollars and permitted the expiration and destruction of lifesaving food and medical commodities.
  
  
• Upending Strategic Partnerships and Alliances: The Trump Administration has needlessly pushed alliances to the brink of rupture and damaged partnerships built on a bipartisan basis over decades. For example, following the Greenland crisis the majority of people in the Kingdom of Denmark, who once supported the U.S.-Denmark Alliance, now consider the United States to be an adversary. Japan was left to fend for itself in the face of aggressive Chinese coercion when Tokyo stood up for its security interests in the Taiwan strait. President Trump discussed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan with Xi Jinping - violating American commitments to a democratic partner and technology powerhouse in place since the Reagan Administration. The President has also openly accommodated Russia's illegitimate territorial claims in Ukraine while imposing limited additional pressure on Moscow to negotiate an end to the war. These collective actions signal weakness to Xi Jinping as he and his lieutenants contemplate action against Taiwan that could cause a $10 trillion disruption in the global economy. Instead of creating a united front against Beijing, we are forcing our closest friends to fend for themselves, or worse, work with our chief competitor. While the Administration has slashed funding to UN agencies and withdrawn the United States from over 60 international organizations, China has coerced U.S. allies with impunity and presented itself as the defender of responsible and steady conduct on the world stage. And as the Trump Administration withdrew the United States from international organizations designed to facilitate trade in critical minerals, China secured the role of host of the 2027 World Radio Conference, which will revise crucial international telecommunications guidelines.

The report's recommendations include:

• Congress should enact legislation that bans the sale of cutting-edge AI chips to foreign adversaries and imposes stringent restrictions on less advanced yet still powerful semiconductors.
  
  
• Congress should enact legislation that makes it easier to sell American technology to trusted partners under the right conditions.
  
  
• Congress must reassert its role in trade policy and put a stop to the Trump Administration's damaging trade wars.
  
  
• Congress should pass the bipartisan SECURE Minerals Act and the Critical Minerals Partnership Act.
  
  
• The Administration and Congress should jointly convey unwavering support for enhancing deterrence in the Taiwan Strait.
  
  
• Congress should demonstrate lasting support for Ukraine by codifying security guarantees for a post-war environment.
  
  
• Congress should enact the bipartisan SHADOW Fleet Sanctions Act of 2026, led by Chairman Jim Risch and Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen, to limit Russia's revenue to support its war against Ukraine.
  
  
• Congress must hold the Administration accountable to fully implement the Fiscal Year 2026 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.
  
  
• Congress must pursue robust oversight of foreign assistance spending.
  
  
• Congress must enact the bipartisan, bicameral Saving Lives and Taxpayer Dollars Act to require the Administration to prevent U.S. taxpayer funded foreign assistance commodities from spoiling, expiring or being destroyed.
  
  
• The Administration must prioritize nominating qualified career experts for Ambassador and other diplomatic positions and refrain from politicizing career diplomatic staff, to ensure American diplomats are confirmed and deployed rapidly to posts around the world.
  
  
• Congress should enact legislation that limits unilateral executive authority to issue travel bans or modify visa fees and requirements.

The full report is available HERE.

The Executive Summary is available HERE.

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