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-Caveat Lector- "Getting China to change its currency system will be a long and
difficult struggle," said Greg Mastel, chief international trade
adviser for the Washington law firm Miller & Chevalier.U.S. Partly Blames China for Economy Woes
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON - China has Washington seeing red over trade.
Chinese exports to the United States have tripled since 1995, with
U.S. consumers snapping up clothes, shoes, toys and electronics. For
every $6 in products that China sells here, U.S. companies sell $1 to
China.
That has contributed to a hemorrhaging of U.S. manufacturing jobs and
a skyrocketing trade deficit with China.
To gain a trade advantage, China has manipulated its currency and
reneged on commitments made when it joined the World Trade
Organization in 2001, the Bush administration and Congress contend.
It's an issue expected to be on the table when President Bush meets
next week with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok, Thailand. On
Capitol Hill, meanwhile, lawmakers are considering retaliatory
tariffs.
Last year, the trade imbalance with China was $103 billion, the
largest ever recorded by the United States with any country. And so
far this year the gap is 22 percent above last year's pace.
Bush sent Treasury Secretary John Snow to Beijing last month to urge
the government to stop pegging China's currency, the yuan, to the
dollar at a fixed rate. The Chinese rejected Snow's request, but the
administration says it will keep up the pressure.
The moves at the White House and in Congress come amid fears of a
voter backlash in 2004, in part because of the loss of 2.7 million
factory jobs over the past 39 months.
American manufacturers contend the Chinese are keeping the value of
the yuan artificially low to give Chinese products an unfair price
advantage of as much as 40 percent. An undervalued yuan makes Chinese
imports cheaper for American consumers while making U.S. products
more expensive in China's market.
Bush recently told U.S. business leaders that his
administration "plans to make sure that China's got a monetary policy
which is fair."
The administration also complains that China is not moving fast
enough to honor commitments it made when joining the WTO. They
include lowering trade barriers against American manufactured goods
and farm products and allowing U.S. banks, telecommunications
companies and other service industries to compete for business in
China's vast market.
Commerce Secretary Don Evans last month formed a new Unfair Trade
Practices Team to make sure that China lives up to its WTO
commitments.
In Congress, more than 60 House members are sponsoring a bill that
would penalize Chinese products by an amount equal to that which the
Treasury Department determines China's currency is being undervalued.
A bipartisan group of senators is pushing a separate bill to impose a
27.5 percent tariff on Chinese products.
"We simply cannot allow countries like China to continue their
illegal, anti-free market trade policies," said Rep. Mark Green, R-
Wis., a sponsor of the House bill.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., has
scheduled hearings this week to spotlight complaints against China.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says
Chinese leaders need to know that "there's a lot of pressure in
Congress and the administration to take action."
Nonetheless, many economists believe it could be years before China
allows the yuan to appreciate. They cite heavy dependence on exports.
It is not just Chinese companies who benefit: 10 of China's 40 top
exporters are U.S. companies with factories in China.
"Getting China to change its currency system will be a long and
difficult struggle," said Greg Mastel, chief international trade
adviser for the Washington law firm Miller & Chevalier.
But other analysts argue that China no longer has the luxury to rig
its currency system. They point to growing political pressure
stemming from America's huge overall trade deficit, now running at an
annual rate of $433 billion.
"Hopefully, China will change its mind and see that some kind of
revaluation would be better than the alternatives," said Morris
Goldstein, senior economist at the Institute for International
Economics in Washington. "Pressure for trade protectionism is certain
to grow in this country with an election approaching."
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Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at:
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