In a rare display of bipartisanship not only on Capitol Hill but between labor and management, action against China’s harmful against the American economy is taking place.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has found that Beijing is “dumping” (a term indicating that nation is selling a product at less than normal value or the cost of production Typically, the goal of this is to destroy the local industry and establish a monopoly for the foreign source.) steel products in the United States.
The Department of Commerce has concluded Chinese dumping has occurred in several areas, including:
- Producers/exporters of steel nails from China have sold steel nails in the United States at up to 118.04 percent less than normal value. As a result of the affirmative final determination in the China investigation, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to collect a cash deposit or bond on entries of steel nails from China based on the final rates.
- Imports of corrosion resistant steel products from China. A dumping margin of 255.80 percent was noted.
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Currency manipulation is another area in which Beijing wages economic warfare against other nations. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka notes:
“China’s currency manipulation lowers the wages of Chinese workers and lowers manufacturing costs in China, creating an unfair trade advantage that has already cost millions of American jobs and closed thousands of American factories. This latest move, which will act as a tax on our exports and a subsidy for Chinese imports, further exacerbates the existing problem….The failure to address currency manipulation and undervaluation…has been a major cause of the U.S. trade deficit and manufacturing decline. It has turned trade agreements into trade tragedies and made the trade deficit a major drag on economic recovery.”
A Forbes Review noted that “Chinese steel exports rose roughly 25% year-over-year in the first ten months of 2015…The rising penetration of imported steels has driven down both shipments and realized prices of domestic steel producers. U.S. Steel reported year-over-year declines of 27% and 8% in shipments and average realized prices respectively for its U.S. Flat-rolled Steel division in the first nine months of 2015. ArcelorMittal’s NAFTA division reported year-over-year declines of 3% and 13% in shipments and average realized prices respectively in the first nine months of 2015. Domestic steel mills have idled nearly 38% of their total production capacity in response to the increase in steel imports.The imposition of anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel imports will make them prohibitively expensive, which should boost both demand and pricing for domestically produced steels. The final determination of duties on imports is expected by mid-2016.”
Unlike private companies, government-owned concerns can engage in extensive dumping practices without worrying about the bottom line. The American Manufacturing Organization, citing a Wall Street Journal study, noted that “most of these companies [engaging in dumping] were government-owned or closely linked to local governments — and given their role as employers and providers of tax revenue, those mills are ‘unlikely to close or cut production even if running losses.‘ Major state-owned steelmakers also continue to have their loans rolled over or refinanced. And on top of all that, the Chinese government manipulates its currency, giving Chinese steelmakers a major economic advantage… As a result, more than 12,000 steelworkers have been laid off in recent months. Steel plant activity is operating below 70 percent of its capacity, and major steelmaking facilities have closed. If things don’t change, additional layoffs and closures are expected.”
Concern over China’s practices led to the introduction of the American Trade Enforcement Effectiveness Act, H.R. 2523, sponsored by Rep. Bost, Mike [R-IL. ] The legislation aims to ease the way for U.S. companies and workers to seek redress against unfair practices. The bipartisan measure currently has 46 co-sponsors. A companion bill, S1269, was introduced into the U.S. Senate by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah.)
The United States is not alone in its concern over China’s practices. The Financial Times reports that European states oare demanding that the European Union take action against Beijing as well. According to the report, “Europe’s steel industry has lost a fifth of its workforce since 2009…European steel industry executives have accused China of using its massive overcapacity at steel mills to dump products on the European market, selling them beneath the cost of production.”