Wendy Sherman: “I am against isolationism, against protectionism, and I am against this deal. Trade with China should not end, but we…”

“I am against isolationism, against protectionism, and I am against this deal. Trade with China should not end, but we need to go back to the drawing board. We accept over 43 percent of China's exports. They accept only .7 percent, less than 1 percent of our exports. Under those circumstances, we can negotiate a better deal. This deal is good for profits, but it is bad for American working families. It is good for the Chinese Communist party. That is why they want this deal so badly. And it is bad for those who want to unravel the power of the Communist party elite in China. This deal is good for the People's Liberation Army and bad for American security interests. First let us turn to the balance of trade. This deal will make permanent a system that has led to the most unbalanced trade in the history of affairs between nations, a $70 billion trade deficit as contrasted to just a $13 billion market for our exports. There is tremendous economic power here on Capitol Hill pushing this deal, but it is not from people who think they can make money by producing goods in the United States at labor costs of $20 and $30 an hour and sell them to China where people make 12 cents an hour; in fact, it is the reverse. The big profits, the big corporate push comes from those who would like to pay workers 12 cents an hour and bring those goods and sell them to Americans at American prices, American prices on which they can make tremendous profits.”