[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 151 (Tuesday, November 15, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12825-S12826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ASIAN TRADE
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, President Bush arrived in Japan today
and will meet tomorrow with Prime Minister Koizumi. Later this week, he
will travel to China to meet with their President as well. It is time
that we insist that the President use this opportunity, this important
opportunity, to demand changes, changes in our economic relationship
with China and with Japan. The President needs to say, as he is there
with those leaders, that we will no longer accept their illegal trade
practices that are costing American jobs, and we demand that changes be
made; we no longer accept the fact that China and Japan manipulate
their currency, which means their products are artificially lower than
ours when they sell them into this country; we no longer accept that
they are stealing our patents and our intellectual property.
Last week, I was pleased to author a letter to the President with
that very message on behalf of myself and 14 other Senators, urging him
to make 2 major changes in our relationship with these important
nations: No. 1, we need to end the rampant counterfeiting of American
products that is occurring in China. It is estimated that 7 percent of
world trade is in counterfeit goods, that the counterfeit market is
worth $350 billion. It is estimated that in the auto industry alone, we
lose over $12 billion annually to counterfeit auto parts, parts that
are unsafe as well as costing us jobs. If you stop this illegal
activity, the auto industry could hire an additional 200,000 workers--
200,000 workers in Michigan. That would equal our ability to cut our
unemployment rate by two-thirds--200,000 people who are now challenged
with losing their way of life, trying to figure out what they are going
to do if they are making half or a third less of what they used to make
because of what is happening in manufacturing in our country. People
are paying more for health care and may very well lose their pension.
We can do something about this if we simply change our relationship
and send a strong message that we are going to put American businesses
and American workers first. Our middle class clearly was built on
manufacturing, and our manufacturers are having a hard time these days.
It is critical that we continue to manufacture in this country. Is it
changing? Has it changed? Of course, it is now high-tech manufacturing.
When you walk into an automobile factory, it looks very different--
quiet, clean, computers, highly skilled workers--but we have to
maintain a strong, vibrant manufacturing economy. We cannot just step
back and say we are going to be a service economy now and let the rest
of the world make things and grow things. That will lead to what is now
becoming a race to the bottom for American families.
The Economist Magazine recently reported a disturbing fact. This
year, manufacturing jobs in the United States dropped below 10 percent
of the population for the first time in history. This is not acceptable
if we are going to continue to have our way of life in this country,
and it is not necessary. If anyone believes that the middle class in
this country can survive without a vibrant manufacturing sector, they
are mistaken. As I indicated, we must make things in this country and
add value to it as we do so, as well as grow things. That is a
foundation of our economy, and that is what has created the wonderful
middle class and the wonderful way of life we have enjoyed for so long
as Americans.
We can do better than this policy that is currently in place.
The President must demand that China and Japan stop manipulating
their currency. When they undervalue their currency, it makes U.S.
exports to China artificially more expensive and places U.S.
manufacturers at an unfair disadvantage in the Chinese market. It also
makes their imports to us artificially less expensive, hurting
manufacturers and costing American jobs. When they undervalue their
currency, it is essentially an illegal subsidy of imports from China
and a large tax on U.S. exports to China, and we need to call it the
way it is. The President needs to be in China and call it for what it
is.
We are projected to finish this year with a record trade deficit of
more than $700 billion. That is more than the budget deficit, up $100
billion over the record $618 billion last year. China accounts for $200
billion of this deficit, more than a quarter of the total trade deficit
in our country. China is the largest contributor to the U.S. current
account trade deficit, and therefore adjustment of its currency has to
be a part of anything we do in revitalizing the manufacturing sector.
China is not the only offender here. In 2003, the Bank of Japan spent
$190 billion in global currency markets in order to manipulate and
artificially weaken the yen. Japan continues this practice today by
talking down the value of their currency, promising intervention if the
yen moves out of a predetermined trading range.
The President must insist that this stop if we are going to continue
to have a relationship, an economic relationship with both of these
countries. In
[[Page S12826]]
fact, we can do something about currency manipulation right now. Every
6 months, the Secretary of the Treasury submits a report to us as to
whether countries are manipulating. We expect to have a report in front
of us this month, the month of November. Unfortunately, I expect it to
say what it has always said, which is technically they are doing what
we all know that they are doing, we all know. Any businessperson in my
State can tell you that China is manipulating their currency. Talk to
people in the auto industry, they will talk about Japan. And yet our
own Treasury Secretary will not certify it is happening, giving us the
tools to enforce against this illegal trade practice.
Let me be very clear. Currency manipulation kills American jobs, and
it is illegal, it is illegal under the WTO and IMF obligations. China
says they want to be a part of the world community, the world
marketplace. They have been allowed to do that. We now need to say to
them very strongly, with this opportunity comes the responsibility to
follow the rules.
One of the things that is extremely concerning to me, when you look
at currency manipulations, we have lost over 1.5 million manufacturing
jobs because of this one policy that is illegal. The Treasury Secretary
can do something about that by simply certifying that it is happening,
and the President of the United States right now this week can look the
President of China in the eye and say this is no longer going to be
tolerated by the United States of America, we will not continue to lose
manufacturing jobs and our quality of life in this country because they
are not following the rules. Cheating is no longer allowed by China and
by Japan.
The bottom line is we can no longer continue to sit on the sidelines
while our trading partners continue to artificially control prices,
look the other way when it comes time to enforce intellectual property
rights, and fail to live up to their obligations under the WTO and the
IMF. It is not acceptable to say that we are going to throw open our
economy in the international marketplace and not care what the rules
are.
Every other country cares what the rules are. The European Union took
us to court because they felt we were unfairly subsidizing our
businesses. They won. We changed our tax laws. We are the only country
that does not seem to have policies that get it. This administration
doesn't understand they are supposed to be on the same side of the
table with American workers and American businesses. It is time for
that to happen. I urge the President to act now before our
manufacturing economy and our middle-class way of life is taken from
us.
Current Federal policies are based on a philosophy that says to
Americans, you are on your own in a global economy; you are on your
own, good luck. To American manufacturers, you are on your own;
American workers, you are on your own.
Mr. President, I believe that we are in this thing together, and
Americans understand that we have a stake in what the rules are and an
economy that works for everybody, an economy that puts Americans and
American businesses first so that we can continue the great way of life
that we have had in this country. Americans know that we are in it
together and that together America can do better. I call upon the
President to join us in the fight for our way of life in America.
I thank the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator yields the floor.
The Senator from Illinois is recognized.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank the Chair.
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