Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said China should be stripped of its “developing nation” status, an international designation that grants it special privileges and flexibility over the United States, as a means of ensuring the U.S. is not put at a disadvantage in trade.

Scott, who is vying for the Republican nomination for president, outlined some of his economic vision during an interview this week with the Washington Examiner. In response to a question about what the trade and tariff policy of a Scott administration would look like, he noted that China is able to receive perks in the international economic system because it is still designated as a developing country.

“Their developing nation status allows them to have an unfair advantage over our economy,” Scott said.

Despite being the second-largest global economy, the United Nations still deems the People’s Republic of China as “developing” and doesn’t place it in the same bucket as developed economies or economies in transition. That gives China prized benefits and flexibility from several international entities, such as the World Trade Organization and World Bank.

For instance, the WTO provides countries with the status longer periods of time to meet certain financial and trade obligations. Additionally, because of the designation, the World Bank gives Beijing billions of dollars’ worth of loans despite the country’s income level otherwise making it ineligible for such funds, according to the Wilson Center.

Scott mentioned stripping China’s developing nation status as an alternative to 10% across-theboard tariffs, which former President Donald Trump has floated recently. Scott said to impose such a regime “is to actually tax the American people and increase the prices of everything that we need.”

Tariffs typically raise prices for consumers domestically.

Scott noted that targeted tariffs — that is, imposing tariffs strategically and not in the blanket sense like Trump has proposed — have been effective in the past.