Sep 30, 2010

China trade deficit will cost one-half million U.S. jobs in 2010

Economic Policy Institute (PDF)


Recent Census Bureau reports show that the U.S. trade deficit with China through July 2010 has increased 18% over the same period last year. Growing China trade deficits will displace between 512,000 and 566,000 U.S. jobs in 2010, as shown in Table 1. These deficits have contributed to the weak performance of the U.S. job market this year, and they could push the United States back into recession if the labor market weakens in the future.

China's growing trade surplus with the United States and the rest of the world has been fueled by massive, illegal currency manipulation, subsidies, and other unfair trade practices (Scott 2010). The best estimates show that the Chinese Renminbi (RMB) is undervalued by at least 35% to 40%, which makes U.S. goods at least 35% more expensive for Chinese purchasers and makes Chinese goods artificially cheap in the United States and around the world.
As a result, U.S. imports from China have soared and U.S. exports to China and the rest of the world have been suppressed.

Via DocUticker