Manzullo: Plan would level playing field for American manufacturers competing with China
From press release
WASHINGTON—U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-16) said June 17 the American and Chinese governments need to take several actions to ensure American manufacturers can compete fairly with Chinese companies in the United States and overseas.
Manzullo, who for many years has co-sponsored legislation to crack down on China’s unfair trade practices, offered his action plan June 17 to members of the House Ways & Means Committee, who held a hearing to scrutinize China’s trade and industrial policies. Manzullo is the senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, and for years led the U.S.-China Interparliamentary Exchange.
Manzullo said: “For too long, China has flouted the rules of fair trade to give its manufacturers an unfair competitive advantage over American workers. And for too long, the American government has let China get away with it. With too many Americans still looking for work, we can no longer allow China to unfairly lure our jobs. I have no doubt that American workers can compete with anyone in the world, but the competition must be fair. I urge both the Chinese and American governments to take action to finally level the playing field for all manufacturers.”
Specifically, Manzullo offered the following reforms:
• CHINA MUST END ITS CURRENCY MANIPULATION—By tying its currency to the U.S. dollar, China gives its manufacturers a 25 percent cost advantage over its American competitors. China must allow its currency to float on the open market or face penalties for illegal export subsidies.
• U.S. MUST ENFORCE EXISTING TRADE LAWS ON CHINA—In addition to fighting currency manipulation, the administration must use all the tools of fair trade to enforce a level playing field, including countervailing duty and anti-dumping laws. The Commerce Department should also initiate unfair trade cases on behalf of small businesses that can’t afford to pursue international trade cases.
• CHINA MUST TIGHTEN ITS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT—Too many American companies that try to do business in China are pirated by Chinese companies that simply copy and steal their designs and manufacture knock-offs of their products. China needs to understand it’s in their best interests, as well, to strengthen and enforce their intellectual property laws. The U.S. government must also be more vigilant in stopping piracy.
• U.S. SHOULD NOT ALLOW CHINA TO COMPETE FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS—The U.S. must oppose a government procurement side agreement at the World Trade Organization that could allow China to enter the federal government’s procurement bidding process. Chinese firms would swamp the U.S. government procurement marketplace and weaken the U.S. defense industrial base, putting our nation at risk from our enemies.
• U.S. SHOULD MODERNIZE ITS EXPORT CONTROL LAWS—Congress should pursue comprehensive export control reform so that widely-available technology can be exported to China without weeks or months of delay that often lead Chinese companies to purchase from other countries. This also helps our national security by focusing the time our export compliance officers spend on stopping bad guys from accessing truly sensitive technologies.
• U.S. SHOULD ENACT AN AGGRESSIVE EXPORT PROMOTION POLICY—We need to provide more resources, particularly to small and medium companies, to help increase access to information about the exporting process, the Chinese marketplace, specific business opportunities, and critical trade finance.
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Editor’s note: The following comment has been edited for content. The Rock River Times reserves the right to edit portions of comments to protect against libel. Edited portions are marked by an ellipsis (…) and words that have been changed are in brackets ([ ]).
Ten years ago, when Manzullo and so many of his … buddies from both of our nation’s corporate-controlled political parties voted for Permanent Most Favored Nation trading status for China, I and others warned that the communist Chinese dictators, besides being despicable villains unworthy of “free trade” with western democracies, would never comply with WTO rules and would use the privileges we were granting them to get ahead by cheating while continuing their brutal suppression of basic human rights.
Nevertheless, for all of the last 10 years, Manzullo has been the best buddy of these despots, initially serving as Chairman (1999 to 2006) and currently Vice Chairman of the U.S.-China Interparliamentary Exchange, an organization of members of the US Congress who dare to behave as if the gang of murderous and racist criminals that call themselves the National People’s Congress (NPC) is a proper representational body same as the one they belong to.
Well when it comes to being criminals, they may indeed have a lot in common, but none of these Chinese criminal parliamentarians was elected by the Chinese people, and all of them are steadfast supporters of the Beijing butcher government’s brutal persecution of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Falun Gong practitioners, sweatshop workers, pregnant women, Christians, etc., etc., etc.
Despite their full knowledge of those atrocities, Manzullo and his US Congressional colleagues have repeatedly gone on pilgrimage to Beijing to legitimize the NPC reign of terror by according them the status that ought to be reserved for genuine parliamentary representatives and thereby respecting them as equals.
Can any of you think of a better way to betray American democratic values? Or to dishonor veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars? …
Whatever you want to call Manzullo’s devotion to Red Chinese interests, it has not changed with this press release.
It is clear from this document that a decade of acting as an accomplice to Chinese crimes is not dishonest enough for our illustrious Congressman-for-Life. In his dotage, Manzullo is attempting to fool us into believing that the blame for his [actions] against our national security and national interests lies with the Chinese for doing what everyone else knows they have been doing ever since he became their best buddy.
Did Manzullo not know that these activities he wants reformed were going on? Or did he not care?
Well, whatever the answer, our Congressman has finally got around to admitting that “free trade” with China has not produced the benefits he promised they would. And so he calls for reforms, or does he?
Please notice that none of Manzullo’s reforms call for an end to Chinese suppression and persecution of human rights. Those policies are of no concern to him. It’s only the money and not the human suffering that he cares about.
Back in November, 2009, Manzullo said of the prisoners held in Guantanamo: “These are really, really mean people whose job it is to kill people, driven by some savage religion.”
Never once has our Christian congressman condemned the really mean people he fraternizes with on his many trips to China. Is this a man with moral values and common sense we can admire? Is Manzullo a congressman we can trust and be proud of?
Manzullo is a hypocrite, a liar, a fraud, and most certainly a traitor. For his [actions], he deserves prison and the unending contempt of those of his constituents who want to live in a republic with liberty and justice for all.
But, thanks to policies favored … by our congressman, we are still a long, long way from that wonderful goal. And we will never get any closer until we rid our nation of traitors like Don Manzullo.