Washington, DC – Following this week’s State of the Union address, during which President Bush pushed for Congress to approve a free trade agreement with Colombia, eight freshmen senators today called on Senate leadership to address current problems with our biggest trading partner. U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Robert Casey (D-PA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jon Tester (D-MT), Jim Webb (D-VA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) called on Senate leadership to act on China trade issues that are contributing to unprecedented trade deficits and unsafe imports. The Freshman Democratic Senators, who ran on trade issues in 2006, called for strong action on issues ranging from currency manipulation and unfair subsidies, to trade law and counterfeit enforcement problems, to imported food and product safety.
The U.S. deficit with China accounts for about 32.5 percent of the overall U.S. trade deficit. For November 2007, the U.S. trade deficit with China hit $237.5 billion, eclipsing the previous year’s record of $232.6 billion. Minus December’s figures, this is already the highest annual imbalance ever recorded with a single country.
Last year, the U.S. imported $288 billion in goods from China – including food, toys, vitamins, and dog food. Individual shipments of food from China have recently been reported as going from 82,000 shipments in 2002 to199,000 in 2006.
Below is the text of the Senator’s letter:
January 31, 2008
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
U.S. Senate, S-221
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Majority Leader Reid:
We would like to offer our support for prioritizing trade legislation addressing China. We face a host of difficult trade issues with China that require strong action, ranging from currency manipulation and unfair subsidies, to trade law and counterfeit enforcement problems, to imported food and product safety. These issues are hurting American competiveness and expose American consumers to unsafe goods.
The problems facing workers and manufacturers due to unfair trading practices in China and other countries are growing more severe each day. The U.S. trade deficit with China hit $237.5 billion through November 2007, eclipsing the previous year’s record of $232.6 billion. This is the highest annual imbalance ever recorded with a single country – and December’s figures have yet to be calculated. The deficit with China now accounts for 32.5 percent of the U.S. total trade deficit in goods – and more than half of the U.S. non-petroleum goods deficit.
China is by far the leading violator of international trade rules and its actions continue to harm American workers, industry, and manufacturing. China has done little to address the fundamental misalignment of its currency, a practice that continues to take jobs and wealth from the United States. There is also strong evidence that the massive subsidies the Chinese government provides its producers gives them an unfair advantage in international trade. These factors, in addition to low wages, unsafe working conditions, and the absence of worker rights, have contributed to the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs and our country’s reliance on imports.
The American people are demanding action to stop our trading partners from rigging the game. It is time for Congress to meet that demand and take strong action.
It is our belief that any such measure taken to correct this imbalance should ensure that China and other nations float their currencies against the dollar and the other currencies of the world. Should China and other nations fail to do so, an appropriate remedy would treat currency misalignment as a subsidy that is countervailable under U.S. trade law.
We also support provisions that would apply countervailing duties to non-market economies. Current anti-subsidies rules allow the world’s largest trade subsidizer, China, to continue its unfair practices without penalty.
Further, we believe it is necessary to ensure that World Trade Organization decisions do not undermine trade law enforcement. We must ensure that U.S. antidumping law will work effectively and fairly against China and other trade law violators.
Since Congress granted permanent normal trade relations status to China, intellectual property theft and illegal counterfeiting have increased, costing American businesses billions of dollars annually. We believe a comprehensive approach to China trade issues must include attention to intellectual property enforcement.
Finally, the recent recalls of unsafe toys, food, and other products from China emphasize the need to ensure that our trading system protects public health and safety. While the President’s Interagency Working Group on Import Safety has developed recommendations for the federal government and industry to follow, we believe that memoranda of understanding with China alone cannot ensure the safety of products for American consumers. We would like to ensure that increased Customs and Border Patrol surveillance of imported food and products and market-based principles be considered to ensure that importers of products from all countries are liable for their safety and quality.
The challenges facing our nation’s manufacturers, farmers, and workers increase with each passing week. We support efforts to address these issues in a comprehensive manner before the consideration of proposed free trade agreements, and we share the view that now is the time to move legislation forward.
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The U.S. deficit with China accounts for about 32.5 percent of the overall U.S. trade deficit. For November 2007, the U.S. trade deficit with China hit $237.5 billion, eclipsing the previous year’s record of $232.6 billion. Minus December’s figures, this is already the highest annual imbalance ever recorded with a single country.
Last year, the U.S. imported $288 billion in goods from China – including food, toys, vitamins, and dog food. Individual shipments of food from China have recently been reported as going from 82,000 shipments in 2002 to199,000 in 2006.
Below is the text of the Senator’s letter:
January 31, 2008
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
U.S. Senate, S-221
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Majority Leader Reid:
We would like to offer our support for prioritizing trade legislation addressing China. We face a host of difficult trade issues with China that require strong action, ranging from currency manipulation and unfair subsidies, to trade law and counterfeit enforcement problems, to imported food and product safety. These issues are hurting American competiveness and expose American consumers to unsafe goods.
The problems facing workers and manufacturers due to unfair trading practices in China and other countries are growing more severe each day. The U.S. trade deficit with China hit $237.5 billion through November 2007, eclipsing the previous year’s record of $232.6 billion. This is the highest annual imbalance ever recorded with a single country – and December’s figures have yet to be calculated. The deficit with China now accounts for 32.5 percent of the U.S. total trade deficit in goods – and more than half of the U.S. non-petroleum goods deficit.
China is by far the leading violator of international trade rules and its actions continue to harm American workers, industry, and manufacturing. China has done little to address the fundamental misalignment of its currency, a practice that continues to take jobs and wealth from the United States. There is also strong evidence that the massive subsidies the Chinese government provides its producers gives them an unfair advantage in international trade. These factors, in addition to low wages, unsafe working conditions, and the absence of worker rights, have contributed to the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs and our country’s reliance on imports.
The American people are demanding action to stop our trading partners from rigging the game. It is time for Congress to meet that demand and take strong action.
It is our belief that any such measure taken to correct this imbalance should ensure that China and other nations float their currencies against the dollar and the other currencies of the world. Should China and other nations fail to do so, an appropriate remedy would treat currency misalignment as a subsidy that is countervailable under U.S. trade law.
We also support provisions that would apply countervailing duties to non-market economies. Current anti-subsidies rules allow the world’s largest trade subsidizer, China, to continue its unfair practices without penalty.
Further, we believe it is necessary to ensure that World Trade Organization decisions do not undermine trade law enforcement. We must ensure that U.S. antidumping law will work effectively and fairly against China and other trade law violators.
Since Congress granted permanent normal trade relations status to China, intellectual property theft and illegal counterfeiting have increased, costing American businesses billions of dollars annually. We believe a comprehensive approach to China trade issues must include attention to intellectual property enforcement.
Finally, the recent recalls of unsafe toys, food, and other products from China emphasize the need to ensure that our trading system protects public health and safety. While the President’s Interagency Working Group on Import Safety has developed recommendations for the federal government and industry to follow, we believe that memoranda of understanding with China alone cannot ensure the safety of products for American consumers. We would like to ensure that increased Customs and Border Patrol surveillance of imported food and products and market-based principles be considered to ensure that importers of products from all countries are liable for their safety and quality.
The challenges facing our nation’s manufacturers, farmers, and workers increase with each passing week. We support efforts to address these issues in a comprehensive manner before the consideration of proposed free trade agreements, and we share the view that now is the time to move legislation forward.
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