WASHINGTON – The ongoing U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue was condemned by the U.S. Business and Industry Council (USBIC) on Wednesday, as a "cynical Bush administration exercise in spin and PR."
The USBIC suggested that Congress take control of U.S.-China trade policy by promptly passing, with veto-proof margins, sanctions against Beijing's "predatory trade policies."
"After two sets of meetings – in Beijing and Washington – no meaningful results are in sight for competitive U.S. domestic producers and workers, nor is a sensible strategy to achieve them. It’s clear that this Dialogue has been nothing but a cynical Bush administration exercise in spin and PR, which the Chinese leadership was only happy to support. The purpose has been to fool the American people and Congress into believing that their government would stand up for their economic interests against China's predatory trade policies," said USBIC President Kevin L. Kearns.
According to Kearns, domestic businesses and their employees have been victimized by China's currency manipulation, subsidies, trade barriers, intellectual property theft, and other violations of free market economic policy and commercial norms.
Currently, there is legislation pending – on currency manipulation, export rebates under China’s VAT system of taxation, placing caps on the trade deficit, and on other aspects of trade policy – that would provide the necessary action to re-balance trade with China and other predatory countries – “and in the process save the world trading system from ultimate collapse,” continued Kearns.
Kearns believes that it is up to the Democratic leadership to save American manufacturers, R&D facilities, agriculture and ranchers, and high-tech service providers – as well as to save the high-paying, good-benefit jobs that these industries provide.
The USBIC represents approximately 1,500 small and medium-sized domestic U.S. companies.