[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14072-14073]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRADE BALANCING ACT OF 2006

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, newspapers across the world today carry the 
story that China has hit a new record in terms of its exports to 
countries like the United States. Surges in exports all over the world 
demonstrate that since last year, the Chinese have actually increased 
their exports by over 25 percent, and since the beginning of this year 
by 55 percent.
  Truly, this Nation is the dump market of the world. We are absorbing 
everybody else's imports, and nations like China are not taking as many 
exports as they could from us in order that we have a balanced trade 
account. Newspapers like the Toronto Star indicate that this new record 
surpasses the record that was set last month in May.
  As you think about the outsourcing of jobs in the United States of 
America, going to Mexico, going to China, it is very interesting that 
the United States is cashing itself out in order to float its currency 
and its borrowings during this period of time when the Bush 
administration and its allies here in the Congress are driving us into 
deeper and deeper debt, more and more borrowing. This is a reciprocal 
of that kind of phony economy here at home.
  In China, even the Chinese admit that that country needs to rely more 
on domestic demand, selling things inside their own country rather than 
exporting everything to the United States. And if China's industrial 
boom, and they grew about 10 percent since the beginning of this year, 
is to be sustained, they have to start selling to their own people.
  Years ago, they said the answer to the trade issues with the Asian 
countries, the Asian tigers, is to manipulate the currency rate. So you 
hear a lot of discussion in this country about the Treasury trying to 
rig the relationship between the yuan in China and the U.S. dollar. But 
the facts are that the United States is in a huge trade deficit with 
almost every other industrial country in the world, and we are having 
to borrow in order to float the borrowings that we are doing on the 
trade accounts in order to sustain the hollowing out of our economy.
  Recently Maytag announced its closure in the State of Iowa. All the 
way back to when Goodyear first closed in Los Angeles, we have a reborn 
steel industry. Our steel industry was killed back in the 1980s, but 
guess what. It has been reborn all through foreign ownership. We don't 
even own it anymore.
  Won't the American people recognize what is happening to the real 
wealth creation of this country?
  I do not want America to be owned by transnational corporations that 
have no loyalty to the United States of America and the values for 
which we stand.
  This is the latest example of why we never should have had permanent 
normal trade relations passed with China, because it only digs us 
deeper and deeper and deeper into debt. Our people do not have good 
middle-class jobs. They cannot hang on to their pensions. Their health 
benefits increase in cost. And we literally are making our children, as 
graduates of the colleges across this country, debtors, because we 
cannot even pay the educational bills of the next generation. What a 
sorry state to begin this new millennium and this 21st century here in 
the United States of America.
  I am deeply distraught by these latest numbers from China, and 
surely, at a minimum, Members of Congress should sponsor my Trade 
Balancing Act of 2006, which basically says to any Presidential 
administration, if we have more than $10 billion of debt in trade with 
any nation in the world, we ought to go back and figure out why we do 
and then renegotiate those trade agreements.
  We cannot depend on fiddling around with currency manipulation 
because they told us if we did that with Japan back in the 1980s, our 
accounts would just look terrific. If the dollar and the yen came into 
balance, the trade accounts would heal. But guess what. They never did 
because you know why? Japan never opened its market to our goods. And 
neither will China. So you have to deal with the Asian tigers in a 
different way.
  Surely, surely this should be a wake-up call to the American people. 
Surely, surely this should be a wake-up call to the Members of this 
Congress who could change the trade laws of this country in order to 
create a balanced trading environment, a level playing field where our 
businesses, where our workers, where our communities have a chance to 
compete again.
  Mr. Speaker, I will include in the Record this article from the 
Toronto Star, the title of which is ``China's Trade Surplus Hits New 
High.
  And I would have to say as it hits a new high, America's economy hits 
a new low here at home.

                 [From the Toronto Star, July 11, 2006]

                  China's Trade Surplus Hits New High

                         (By Elaine Kurtenbach)

       Shanghai--Month after month, China's export-driven economy 
     pushes its trade surplus with the rest of the world to new 
     heights.
       June was no exception. Yesterday, China reported that its 
     global trade surplus rose to a record monthly high of $14.5 
     billion (U.S.), after a record $13 billion surplus in May.
       The data from China's Commerce Ministry is sure to raise 
     the likelihood of more tension over Beijing's currency 
     controls, especially with the U.S., which is one of China's 
     $202 billion in 2005, has fanned antagonism over the 
     persistent imbalance between the two countries. That figure 
     is bigger than China's global trade gap because China has 
     trade deficits with some nations.
       June's increase raised the trade surplus for the first half 
     of the year to $61.5 billion, a 55 per cent jump over last 
     year's first-half surplus of $39.7 billion.
       The surge in exports also has worried China's economic 
     planners, who say the country needs to rely more on domestic 
     demand than on exports and Investment to fuel growth if its 
     industrial boom is to be sustained.
       The economy grew at an annual rate of 10.3 per cent in the 
     first quarter of the year.

[[Page 14073]]

     First-half figures have yet to be released but state media 
     reports, citing authoritative government officials, have said 
     it likely would remain at about 10 per cent.
       But he added ``these numbers suggest that the PBOC is 
     fighting back effectively.''
       The latest trade figures were likely to ratchet up 
     complaints over China's currency controls, which its trading 
     partners say keep the value of the yuan artificially low, 
     making the country's exports cheap in overseas markets.
       China still limits daily movement in the yuan's value to 
     just 0.3 per cent above and below its daily official rate. 
     Chinese officials have pledged to make trading more flexible, 
     but have shied away from setting a timetable.
       In the meantime, the yuan has risen about 1.5 per cent 
     since it was revalued by 2.1 per cent against the dollar to 
     8.11 yuan per dollar.

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