Report: China Rigs Subsidies, Manipulates Currency
Dave Johnson, a fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future, sends us this.
The new U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission report on China should be a “wake-up call” for the United States, says Scott Paul, director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM). Click here to read the full report and here for a comprehensive list of the commission’s recommendations beginning on page 355 of the report.
In sum: China is rigging trade using subsidies and currency manipulation, has barriers to bringing in U.S. goods and is forcing American companies to hand over proprietary technology. The result is our huge trade deficit is getting even worse. China also is acting more like it could become a national security threat.
This bipartisan commission was created by Congress in 2000 “to monitor, investigate and submit to Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China and to provide recommendations, where appropriate, to Congress for legislative and administrative action.”
Some key excerpts:
House Kills China Currency Bill and Chance to Create U.S. Jobs
House Republicans killed another jobs bill tonight, with nearly all of them casting a vote on a procedural motion that buried the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (H.R. 639). The bill, which would have held China accountable for its job-killing currency manipulation, was passed last night by the Senate. The motion to bring the bill to the floor was defeated 192-236, with only four Republicans joining 188 Democrats in supporting the move to bring the legislation to a vote.
Had anti-worker Republicans supported the bill, it would have:
- Created at least one million manufacturing jobs in the United States.
- Leveled the playing field for American workers and businesses.
- Enhanced our economic and national security by cutting our trade deficit with China, at no cost to taxpayers.
Senate Passes China Currency Bill: Will Boehner Support Jobs as Well?
By a wide margin, the U.S. Senate this evening passed a bill to hold China accountable for its job-killing practice of currency manipulation. The 63-35 vote on S.1619, the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Act of 2011, is a good step toward creating U.S. jobs.
According to new data, 2.8 million American jobs were lost or displaced over the past decade due to the growing U.S. trade deficit with China—fueled by Chinese currency manipulation.
But the measure must now be passed by the House, and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called on House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) to “allow this vote to take place without delay.”
Congress must stand up for American manufacturing and put an end to the trade war being waged against the working families and communities. Our country needs jobs, and we can no longer afford to be passive.
Alliance for American Manufacturing Executive Director Scott Paul also challenged Boehner to pass the bill after tonight’s vote:
Will you side with the Beijing regime and outsourcers, or will you stand with American manufacturing?
Chinese Currency Bill Could Lead to More than 2 Million Jobs
Next week, the U.S. Senate will take up consideration of a bill to address Chinese currency manipulation. The Republican-controlled House is holding up its version of the legislation, even though it passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2010, with 99 Republicans supporting it.
Unlike other currencies, the Chinese yuan does not fluctuate freely against the dollar but is artificially pegged in order to boost China’s exports. Bringing the Chinese yuan to its equilibrium level—a 28.5 percent appreciation—is essential to creating much-needed jobs in this country. The Alliance for American Manufacturing says addressing Chinese currency manipulation would lead to:
Revaluing China’s Currency Would Create 2.25 Million U.S. Jobs
If China increased the value of its currency to its real level, the resulting growth in the United States could create 2.25 million new U.S. jobs, according to a new report.
The Benefits of Revaluation, released today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), explains that if the value of the Chinese currency, the yuan, and satellite currencies, such as those in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, were increased by 25 percent to 30 percent against the dollar, the U.S. gross domestic product would grow as much as $285.7 billion, creating up to 2.25 million U.S. jobs. Creating that many jobs would reduce the U.S. unemployment rate by at least one full percentage point.
Vote Now to Press China on Currency Manipulation
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Ahead of President Obama’s meeting next week with China’s President Hu Jintao, the Washington Post is asking readers whether the White House should press Hu on China’s currency manipulation. The answer is an emphatic, “Yes!”
The Chinese government keeps its currency low, which artificially reduces the prices of its exports, creates a huge trade deficit for the United States and costs millions of American jobs.
Vote now here and let President Obama know that getting China’s government to act now on currency manipulation is an important step toward supporting our nation’s manufacturers and their workers.
Shuler to White House: Let’s Revive Manufacturing
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler joined Vice President Joe Biden and other leaders at yesterday’s meeting of the White House Middle Class Task Force. The topic: restoring our crippled manufacturing sector.
The White House Middle Class Task Force yesterday issued a framework detailing the challenges facing manufacturing, and Shuler delivered a message to the White House that fixing manufacturing must be a priority in building a stronger economy.
Speaking to administration officials as part of a panel with other business and labor leaders, Shuler emphasized the need for government to step up and create policies to encourage manufacturing. In short: We can’t sustain a strong economy based on debt, imports and financial maneuvering.
