China-Trade Issue Thrust Into Races As Vote Nears
Trade with China is re-emerging as an issue in the final days of the 2008 campaign, as politicians on both sides of the aisle push for a toughened U.S. policy toward the Asian economic titan.
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama is the latest candidate to ratchet up the China rhetoric. In a letter released Wednesday by the National Council on Textile Organizations, a trade group, the Illinois senator vowed to address industry complaints that China is manipulating its currency to gain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
Sen. Obama said China's massive trade surplus with the U.S. is a direct result of 'manipulation of its currency's value,' and stressed 'China must change its policies, including its foreign-exchange policies.' Sen. Obama said China's economy must rely less on exports and more on domestic demand for growth. He said he 'will use all diplomatic means at my disposal to induce China to make these changes.'
For years, the Bush administration has refused to formally declare China a currency manipulator. Nevertheless, the Bush administration, with modest success, has nudged Beijing to raise the value of its currency.
In the campaign of John McCain, senior economic adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin said the Arizona senator 'is experienced enough to recognize that the relationship with China should not be reduced solely to the value of its currency.' Mr. Holtz-Eakin said Sen. McCain favors engagement with China across a range of issues, including international economic agreements.
Sen. Obama's commitment comes as he makes a strong play for North Carolina, where the textile industry is still a big part of the local economy, and concerns about competition posed by China run high among local voters.
Among other things, the senator also promised to closely monitor textile shipments from China, once import limits on a wide range of Chinese-made apparel expire at the end of the year. And he promised to make use of trade-remedy laws to protect industries, like textile producers, if they are threatened by unfair competition from abroad. 'I am especially aware of the trade challenges faced by those working in our textile industries,' he said.
Mr. Obama's comments follow efforts by North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a Republican, to burnish her trade credentials ahead of Election Day.
In mid-September, Sen. Dole, who is facing an unexpectedly difficult battle for re-election, wrote the White House urging steps be taken to ensure U.S. textile producers and workers 'not be put in harm's way' once the limits on Chinese imports expire. She complained China has increased its subsidies for textile producers.
In response, President George W. Bush's trade ambassador, Susan Schwab, said the administration intensified its study of the issue. In a letter sent last week to Sen. Dole, Ms. Schwab said China has been put on notice about U.S. concerns that Chinese textile producers are receiving unfair subsidies. Ms. Schwab said she wrote China's commerce minister 'expressing concern about potential WTO-illegal subsidies,' and warning the U.S. would consider filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization 'if China does not act promptly to eliminate them.' |
|
/1 
