NYT: U.S. Toughens Its Position on China TradeU.S. Toughens Its Position on China Trade

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/worldbusiness/10trade.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

News Analysis
U.S. Toughens Its Position on China Trade

By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: April 10, 2007

WASHINGTON, April 9 — Has the Bush administration’s economic team run out of patience with China?

For years, President Bush has avoided confronting Beijing with sanctions or legal challenges to its trade practices, preferring to use diplomacy to press China to bring down its trade deficit with the United States, now at $232 billion. But these days, the conciliatory approach looks as if it is being reconsidered, if not discarded.

The latest in a string of tough actions against China came on Monday, when the top American trade envoy, Susan C. Schwab, announced that the United States would take China to court at the World Trade Organization over suspected trade barriers and piracy of books, music, videos and other goods.

That action came after two other unfair trade complaints earlier this year, one last month threatening stiff new duties on certain imports, and the other in February, challenging China over its subsidies of manufactured goods.


Doug Mills/The New York Times
Susan Schwab, the trade representative, said that the United States would press China over piracy of books, CDs, DVDs and other goods.

Ms. Schwab said that even though negotiations had failed to solve trade problems, the latest steps “should not be viewed as hostile actions against China” and that resolving issues at the World Trade Organization in Geneva was “the normal way for mature trading partners” to handle differences.

The new policy risks angering or embarrassing those in Beijing who may be trying to reform economic policies as Washington wants. In addition, many trade experts worry that China might retaliate against American imports or cut back on cooperation sought by Washington on other issues, like diplomatic problems involving Iran, North Korea and Sudan.

FULL article at link.

[ixion]

1. run out of patience with China? the country who owns us? the country who we borrow 2 billion a day

from? That china?

Oh, that is rich. :rofl:

[w4rma]

2. Our debt to them is a limited power over them, also.

We are in debt to China, but China doesn't want to piss us off to the extent that we refuse to ever repay.

[ixion]

3. while we're not coming to the table empty-handed

they could get along much better without us than we without them.