Economy

China Gets Drilled On Trade Policies

April 5, 2006 ⋅  E-Mail Article ⋅  Print Article ⋅ Post a comment

Someone in Congress decided it was time to put the smack down and once they did many followed. The issue of China is a hot topic around the world and now the sleeping giant is being exposed as the slum lord of the business world. Hopefully this policy meeting enacts change that ripples throughout the world. With China about to be examined by the WTO, this should be welcomed news by all who have been washed aside by the Chinese wake of unfair business practices. Washington is beginning to see the light, hopefully the Bush Administration follows suit.

We have been trying to play nice in a very unfair game and now the Washington politicians are beginning to take notice. It has been reported that politicians in Washington have vowed to send a message to China that the United States will resort to more muscular enforcement against China for repeated, and flagrant, violations of trade rules. My only question is , “What took so long?” Why has it taken our politicians this long to actually notice that we are being smacked around like a dime store whore on a second rate street. We are America, we should not have bended to such outrageous policies just to try and gain entrance into what is not as emerging a market as we were led to believe.

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Timothy Stratford was speaking recently when he stated that, “the U.S. and China have entered a new, more mature phase of their economic relationship…China is ready to take responsibility under international agreements for its actions…The United States must treat China as a fully accountable stakeholder and must insist that China play a constructive role.” Now this is the type of talk I want to hear from a leader. Who is this man, lets make him President, or at least Vice President. This is the most sense I have heard come out of Washington in a while.

Timothy Stratford was speaking at a hearing which was examining China’s business practices. Many are starting to take notice of what has been Chinas dirty little secret. They have policies in place which are almost like state sponsored subsidies for their industrial companies. This has caused world concern recently and many are now openly accusing China of unfair play. The U.S-China Commission was created by Congress to make recommendations about economic relations with China.

Chinese President Hu Jintao’s is set to visit Washington in two weeks; many say we will not see that many fireworks prior to the Chinese Presidents arrival. However, with tough talk like this now going on it will be hard to avoid. In Geneva, the World Trade Organization is set to conduct its first full trade policy review of China on April 19 and 21.

Numerous countries have recently made complaints against Chinese trade policy; many have went as far as making official complaints with the World Trade Organization. There are heated complaints now being addressed that charge China with the maintaining of an illegal tariff on imported auto parts.

China has been openly accused of also manipulating its currency and for subsidizing its exports. Its policies have hurt European, and North American, businesses, and their workers.

The gauntlet has been thrown down and there is no turning back now. The sleeping giant has been exposed as a waking slum lord who is corrupting business practices around the world. What will be the outcome, we will soon know. However, one thing is for certain, if China can be brought to follow world trade laws, all of the world’s economies will benefit. Michael Wessel stated, “We can’t afford much longer to ignore the unfair and unacceptable subsidies that China broadly offers to promote its own economic interests…The result is, in part, huge and increasing bilateral trade deficits with the United States and the migration of production and jobs to China.”

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