[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2809]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 4808, UNFAIR CHINESE AUTOMOTIVE TARIFF 
                            EQUALIZATION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on March 1, Mr. Kildee of 
Michigan, a Member of Congress, joined me in a bill, H.R. 4808, which 
would prevent imports of passenger cars from China until the United 
States and Chinese tariffs on these items are equal.
  Mr. Speaker, I think we all know that our trade deficit with China is 
well over $200 billion. We all agree that we live in a world where we 
have to work with each other and trade with each other. The problem is 
that under the current agreement, these cars that will be coming in 
from China put us at a disadvantage, our workers and our car companies.
  Let me just share with you that if we ship a car from America to be 
sold in China, the Chinese Government slaps a 28 percent tariff on 
American-made cars. If those Chinese cars come into America, we charge 
them a 2.5 percent tariff on their cars. That is not a level playing 
field.
  I think China has enough advantages, quite frankly. They manipulate 
their currency, violate intellectual property rights, utilize heavy 
equipment, government subsidies, pay their workers just pennies a day, 
and they do not have to worry about the labor and environmental 
standards that Americans must abide by. The tariffs just give China 
another unfair advantage, an advantage that threatens the job of every 
worker in the United States auto industry.
  I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us in 
this fairness issue. That is all this is about, fairness, because our 
workers work hard to produce a quality product. When we send it to 
China, they, again, put a 28 percent tariff on our cars going to China, 
while we only put a 2.5 percent tariff on passenger cars coming to 
America.
  Mr. Speaker, there is something else that we fail to realize. With 
that $200 billion trade deficit, in The Wall Street Journal this week 
it said: ``China defends outlay to increase by 17.4 percent, the most 
in 4 years.'' The Chinese are making money off the American people, and 
they are taking that money and, in many cases, they are putting it into 
their military.
  Now, I am not so concerned about China and America going to war, but 
I do know this: China is trying to build one of the strongest 
militaries we have ever seen in this world, and what they want to do is 
to dominate Southeast Asia.
  What Mr. Kildee and I are asking for is just a simple matter of 
fairness. If we are going to sell their cars, let us charge them the 
same tariff they are going to charge us to sell our cars in China. I 
would hope that my colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, would join 
us in this effort. This, again, is nothing but an issue of fairness.
  In fact, the Economic Policy Institute has said that since 1989 
through the year 2003 we have lost 1.5 million jobs to the Chinese. 
Here, again, on this floor tonight I am announcing H.R. 4808, a bill 
introduced by a Democrat and Republican, that says that we need to 
charge the same tariff for American cars going to China as Chinese cars 
coming to America. We should all pay the same. That is a simple matter 
of fairness.
  So tonight, Mr. Speaker, I shall be speaking on this issue quite a 
few times, but I will tell you that we need to be aware of what is 
happening to the jobs that have been going overseas, and particularly 
those jobs going to China. So I hope tonight that my colleagues will 
look at the letter that is signed by Mr. Kildee and myself asking our 
colleagues in the House to join us on H.R. 4808. All it is is a tariff 
fairness issue.
  I will close by saying this again: American cars that go to China to 
be sold have to pay a 28 percent tariff, Chinese cars coming to America 
later on this year will pay only a 2.5 percent tariff. That is not fair 
to the American workers.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform; 
to please bless their families; and, God, please continue to bless 
America.

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