By David Lawder

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Monday that fighting inflation was a complex issue and could not be solved with a single focus on China’s tariffs. She also stressed the importance of a thoughtful, deliberate, strategic approach to U.S.-China relations.

Tai made remarks before the Washington International Trade Association that inflation is “scary”, hurting Americans’ pockets, but it was complicated and has many causes.

Tai explained that “The economy’s large” and said there were many levers and pressure points in the economy. If we are going to tackle an issue such as inflation and the severity it demands, our tools to mitigate and address that inflation must be able to recognize that it’s a complex issue that requires more than tariffs.

Tai’s remarks suggest that the Biden Administration is still debating whether to lower some U.S. Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports worth hundreds of billions. These were imposed by President Donald Trump.

Tai indicated that the Biden administration should “take a strategic, thoughtful approach to managing this relationship (with Beijing), overall.”

One of the top responsibilities of administration is “to figure out how we get this relationship right, and nothing about it is easy,” she said.

Tai is currently at war with Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary. Yellen argued that the tariffs could hurt U.S. businesses and consumers. Yellen suggested that the tariffs might have an effect on lowering prices.