Bravo to Robert Samuelson in the latest Newsweek for not only calling for stronger efforts to hold China accountable, but also making the case that actions aimed at doing just that aren’t “protectionist.”

“It is not “protectionist” (I am a longstanding free trader) to complain about policies that are predatory; China’s are just that. The logic of free trade is that comparative advantage ultimately benefits everyone. Countries specialize in what they do best. Production and living standards rise. But the logic does not allow for one country’s trade systematically to depress its trading partners’ production and employment. Down that path lies resentment and political backlash.”

And, he appropriately uses the terms “avoidance” and “fester” to describe the inability and unwillingness in recent years to deal with the problem:

“Given the immense stakes—literally the future of the global trading system—the Bush administration has been too timid in pushing China to change. The Treasury Department won’t even declare China guilty of currency manipulation. No doubt doing so would irritate the Chinese. But avoidance is no solution; the longer these problems fester, the more intractable and destructive they will become.”

This entry was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2007 at 6:18 pm and is filed under Holding China Accountable, Currency Manipulation, 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.