Thread: Senate hits China for 'cheating' to steal US jobs

Senate hits China for 'cheating' to steal US jobs

The Senate voted Monday to advance a bill that would punish China for manipulating its currency to drive exports. If it became law, the bill would risk a trade war over US jobs.

By Gail Russell Chaddock, Staff writer / October 3, 2011
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Sen. Sherrod Brown (l.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer talk to the media following a Senate vote that clears the way for debate on a bill that would impose tariffs on Chinese imports as a penalty for currency manipulation Monday, on Capitol Hill in Washington. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Washington ... In a rare bipartisan vote, the Senate on Monday voted 79 to 19 to take up a bill that would punish China for manipulating its currency, risking a potential trade war with the economic giant.

Though prospects for the bill in the House are seen as uncertain, jobs lost due to competition with China is a blistering issue for voters, especially in the nation’s industrial heartland.

The bill would impose tariffs on Chinese goods in response to China’s policy of keeping its currency, the yuan, artificially low. The low value of the yuan keeps the price of Chinese goods low, giving them an advantage over American-made goods.

MONITOR QUIZ: How much do you know about China?

Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, the US has lost 2.8 million jobs as a result of increased trade with China, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The cumulative US trade deficit with China over the same period amounts to more than $1.76 trillion, according to the 2010 report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The commission has highlighted the impact of currency manipulation in each of its annual reports to Congress.

“Jobs and wealth are leaving the US and going to China, because China cheats,â€

It's about time. It should have been done long ago.