US lawmakers introduced have introduced a bill that would revoke China's preferential trade status with the United States, phase in steep tariffs and end the "de minimis" exemption for low-value Chinese imports, reports Reuters.

The bill, introduced by John Moolenaar, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives' select committee on China, comes after President Donald Trump issued a memo asking his cabinet to assess legislation on the Permanent Normal Trade Relations designation for Beijing.

Congress approved PNTR for China in 2000, paving the way for its entry into the World Trade Organisation. But the US has routinely found the large role of the state in China's economy, including hefty government subsidies for strategic industries, to violate the global trade body's rules.