2008 Woodie Awards
American trade practices with China increase deficit
Lauren Wickboldt
Issue date: 9/21/06 Section: Opinions
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The Bush administration has yet again proved its impressive knowledge of the U.S. economy, specifically the trade deficit that reached $717 billion this year and is expected to increase to $800 billion next year. A quarter of this deficit is due to trade practices with China, a country that continues to make little effort to change its currency system. Presently, the Yuan is undervalued by 15 to 40 percent and the United States Senate has stepped up, thankfully, to legislate consequences.
Three different Senate alliances have introduced legislation to fix the problem, two of which specifically place a tariff on China's goods in order to put pressure on this country to move to a market-based currency exchange rate. The third seeks to gradually decrease the trade deficit by giving out importing certificates to companies that export from the United States.
I realize that it is difficult for senators to all work together on these issues and create one bill that has a chance once it is on the floor, but this is no laughing matter. The increasing trade deficit is decreasing the value of the currently - but probably not for much longer - most powerful nation in the international community; it is inevitable that the United States will lose its economic bargaining power. The best possible solution is one bill that is a combination of the proposed ones, a bill whose main focus is on reducing the overall trade deficit as the most important issue. Furthering Bush's international power plots by increasing the influence of the United States in yet another pivotal sovereign nation should be secondary.
With domestic jobs constantly relocating to countries with workers who are much more easily exploited, the last thing we need right now is to lose what leverage we have. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it truly seems like the Bush family is slowly waging war, physically or economically, on any country that could possibly come in handy down the road. There just seems to be something missing from George, Jr.'s agenda. . .oh yeah, domestic policy!
Three different Senate alliances have introduced legislation to fix the problem, two of which specifically place a tariff on China's goods in order to put pressure on this country to move to a market-based currency exchange rate. The third seeks to gradually decrease the trade deficit by giving out importing certificates to companies that export from the United States.
I realize that it is difficult for senators to all work together on these issues and create one bill that has a chance once it is on the floor, but this is no laughing matter. The increasing trade deficit is decreasing the value of the currently - but probably not for much longer - most powerful nation in the international community; it is inevitable that the United States will lose its economic bargaining power. The best possible solution is one bill that is a combination of the proposed ones, a bill whose main focus is on reducing the overall trade deficit as the most important issue. Furthering Bush's international power plots by increasing the influence of the United States in yet another pivotal sovereign nation should be secondary.
With domestic jobs constantly relocating to countries with workers who are much more easily exploited, the last thing we need right now is to lose what leverage we have. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it truly seems like the Bush family is slowly waging war, physically or economically, on any country that could possibly come in handy down the road. There just seems to be something missing from George, Jr.'s agenda. . .oh yeah, domestic policy!
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