Walter B. Jones: “on March 1, Mr. Kildee of Michigan, a Member of Congress, joined me in a bill, H.R. 4808, which would prevent imports of…”

“on March 1, Mr. Kildee of Michigan, a Member of Congress, joined me in a bill, H.R. 4808, which would prevent imports of passenger cars from China until the United States and Chinese tariffs on these items are equal. Mr. Speaker, I think we all know that our trade deficit with China is well over $200 billion. We all agree that we live in a world where we have to work with each other and trade with each other. The problem is that under the current agreement, these cars that will be coming in from China put us at a disadvantage, our workers and our car companies. Let me just share with you that if we ship a car from America to be sold in China, the Chinese Government slaps a 28 percent tariff on American-made cars. If those Chinese cars come into America, we charge them a 2.5 percent tariff on their cars. That is not a level playing field. I think China has enough advantages, quite frankly. They manipulate their currency, violate intellectual property rights, utilize heavy equipment, government subsidies, pay their workers just pennies a day, and they do not have to worry about the labor and environmental standards that Americans must abide by. The tariffs just give China another unfair advantage, an advantage that threatens the job of every worker in the United States auto industry. I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us in this fairness issue.…”