"Words that make actions speak louder."
What will it mean to American businesses if – I should say when – Chinese imports cost as much as they should cost? A currency and trade rebalancing is going to happen sooner or later because it has to. We can’t run a trade deficit forever. If something is unsustainable it can’t be sustained. Eventually […]
America and China share a terrible delusion. They are in denial about currency manipulation. Both officially state that China is not devaluing its currency. In mid-March, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao flatly denied that China deliberately suppresses the value of its currency against the dollar, a practice that decreases the price of its exports and […]
As the Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is scheduled to visit Pittsburgh today, where he will be “greeted by a chorus of calls to bolster ailing U.S. manufacturers by taking action against China’s currency and trade policies.” The Post Gazette article cites a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute […]
I’ve been focusing on the Chinese currency manipulation problem because the Obama administration is supposed to make it’s twice-a-year declaration on this on April 15. But even if this problem is addressed as it needs to be, keep in mind that it is just one piece of the larger problem of Chinese trade policies. In […]
The “free trade” craze wiping out Haiti’s farmers by flooding the country with cheap American rice. The same this happened in northern Mexico with cheap (heavily subsidized) American corn. On March 10 Bill Clinton apologized to Haiti. See With cheap food imports, Haiti can’t feed itself [W]orld leaders focused on fixing Haiti are admitting for […]
The pressure from the huge Chinese currency imbalance shows up in surprising places. Even Chinese CEOs are calling for China to increase the value of its currency to market rates. China CEOs Join Obama in Supporting Yuan Appreciation Yang Yuanqing, chief executive officer of Beijing-based computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd., said gains would boost consumers’ […]
Everyone knows that we have lost a lot of jobs to China since 2001. Now you can find out exactly how many, and where. The Alliance for American Manufacturing and Economic Policy Institute released a report today titled, “Unfair China Trade Costs Local Jobs” by EPI’s Robert Scott. Along with the report AAM has set […]
The Chinese currency manipulation issue continues to make news. Economist Paul Krugman lays out the stakes, China is in effect imposing an anti-stimulus of that magnitude — which plausibly means 1.5 percent of GDP. This is not a small issue. Senators Schumer, Graham and Brown revive legislation to push China: Schumer, Graham Push Bill to […]
There is a great deal of pressure on the Obama administration to declare China as a currency manipulator, and with very good reason: they are manipulating their currency. This manipulation gives goods made in China a huge price advantage over goods made in other countries, and is a large part of the reason so many […]
Closing the New United Motors Manufacturing Inc. automotive plant in California will eliminate 25,000 jobs in the state and cost taxpayers $2.3 billion to replace the jobs lost, according to a March 3 report by University of California professor Harley Shaiken. The Daily Labor Report (subscription required) notes: California and municipalities near the Fremont, Calif., […]