On the recordMay 8, 2012
There's a lot of talk here in Washington about the need to cut our budget deficits; and while that is certainly true, we also need to be talking about another deficit, and that's our country's trade deficit. Last year, the United States ran a trade deficit of $558 billion. If you look just at the trade in goods, this number jumps to an astounding $737 billion. According to a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute, the growth in the U.S. trade deficit with China alone has led to the loss of almost 3 million American jobs in the last 10 years. Too often, the U.S. opens its markets to foreign competition without reciprocal access. And while we play by the rules here in the United States, other countries impose unfair tariffs, duties, and technical barriers, and even use techniques like currency manipulation to game international trade rules. China aggressively uses trade policies, including currency manipulation, to protect and subsidize their domestic industries, while undermining American companies. In response to the World Trade Organization case that the United States brought against China, the Chinese Government recently imposed new retaliatory duties on American- made vehicles which are clearly in violation of WTO requirements. Additionally, China consistently advances policies to force technology transfers from non-Chinese companies and obtain the intellectual property that drives these advanced technologies.…





