It’s no secret that China has engaged in rampant theft of intellectual property and personal data. There is far less agreement on what should be done about it.

That tension was on display on Thursday when the Justice Department indicted two state-linked Chinese hackers but did not include expected sanctions, out of fear that they would dampen prospects of a trade deal with Beijing. That move signals a prioritizing of tariffs and forcing agreement on a potential trade deal over other means of countering Chinese lawbreaking.

The hackers were part of Chinese group APT10 which ran successful campaigns targeting technology companies in addition and government agencies. Those are serious breaches that clearly run counter to the interest of the U.S. and its allies and are exactly the kind of attacks that Trump has repeatedly said he is pushing back on with his tariffs.

But tariffs are unlikely to stop China from pursuing its economic interests against international law. Even a trade deal is unlikely to do that.

For one thing, China has failed to honor a 2015 agreement meant to limit theft of intellectual property and the conditions it agreed to when it joined the World Trade Organization. That leaves little reason to believe that an agreement made with the Trump administration would be effective in limiting rampant and illegal cybertheft.

For another, a unilateral trade war that damages the U.S. economy is not the best way to hold Beijing accountable. Far more effective are indictments against individual bad actors and companies that have clearly violated international laws and agreements, such as those used by the U.S. Commerce Department against firms that have shared technology with the Chinese military.

Unfortunately, as Trump scrambles to claim victory with a new deal, his administration is failing to follow through on measures like sanctions that have a real impact on the individuals and companies that are doing damage to the U.S. economy and national security.