Telling It Like It Is
Posted by SCapozzola on November 20th, 2008
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its 2008 annual report today. ManufactureThis is a big fan of the “China Commission,” especially since our Senior Analyst, Kerri Houston Toloczko, served a recent appointment as a Commissioner. 
The latest report notes that “China’s trade surplus with the United States remains large, despite the global economic slowdown.”
In response, the Commission offers some not-too-surprising recommendations. Chief among them:
-Employing World Trade Organization trade remedies more aggressively.
-Responding effectively to China’s currency manipulation.
-Ensuring disclosure of foreign state-controlled investments in the United States.
Specifically, the Commission recommends that “Congress urge the administration to employ more aggressively all trade remedies authorized by World Trade Organization rules to counteract the Chinese government’s practices. The Commission further recommends that Congress urge the administration to ensure that U.S. trade remedy laws are preserved and effectively implemented to respond to China’s unfair or predatory trade activities so as to advance the interests of U.S. businesses.”
All of this will, of course, have to wait for the incoming Obama administration. But the study adds weight to calls for a revitalization of American manufacturing, especially in the face of advancing Chinese technological prowess. A key point in the study, and one which may surprise many Americans, is that “China’s trade surplus in advanced technology products is growing rapidly, while the United States is running an ever-larger deficit in technology trade.”
Essentially, the United States is falling further behind in R&D while China pioneers more and more new hi-tech manufacturing. This makes sense however when one notes that the top U.S. exports to China are now waste and scrap products, at sales of roughly $6 billion. 
Click here to read the full report.
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