Would you believe 1.8 million American jobs? According to a study out today from the Economic Policy Institute - Costly Trade with China - that’s how many American jobs have been displaced by the trade deficit with China since 2001, when China entered the World Trade Organization.

You may think we sound like a broken record when it comes making sure China follows the rules it agreed to when it entered the WTO. But, the facts speak for themselves - 1.8 million jobs. And, those jobs are coming from all sectors (though mostly manufacturing) and all states - from California, which lost nearly 270,000 jobs, to New Hampshire, which lost the equivalent of 2.1% of its total employment (13,000 jobs). And, as the deficit continues to spiral upward, more jobs will be displaced, putting the livelihood of more American families at risk.

The reality is that American workers and companies can’t afford to “wait it out” to see if the promises of China’s WTO entry will ever materialize. The answer is they won’t until China is forced to follow the rules it agreed to.

Our policymakers must re-examine our trade policies and make sure we’re doing all we can to hold China accountable. The jobs we’re losing aren’t just a natural result of globalization, they’re the result of cheating and sidestepping the rules of fair trade.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 at 6:22 pm and is filed under Holding China Accountable, Enforcing Trade Laws. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.