Stop blaming China for trade problem, US told
Source: Agencies |
March 8, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
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A US trade bill targeting Chinese imports goes against international rules and China will not adjust the value of its currency to try to bridge a trade deficit that is Washington's problem to fix, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said yesterday.
US President Barack Obama is set to sign the bill into law to allow duties to be imposed on subsidized goods from China and Vietnam.
"We follow the rules of the WTO, but we have no obligation to follow domestic laws or regulations in any specific country that go beyond international rules," Chen told a news conference during the annual meeting of parliament.
Chen said China had done a better job of bringing balance to global trade than the United States, bringing its trade surplus down to 2.1 percent of economic output in 2011 while the trade deficit of the United States was 4.8 percent of its gross domestic product.
He said it was clear that the United States had a responsibility to close its own deficit.
"Why did the US have a US$700 billion overall trade deficit? Why did China have an overall trade surplus of only US$150 billion but a trade surplus of US$200 billion with the United States?" Chen responded to a journalist's question.
"Every man free from prejudice and armed with common-sense economics can come to the right conclusion."
Chen's comments came a day after the US Congress passed the bill that Obama is set to sign into law. A US court ruled in December that the US Commerce Department did not have authority to impose countervailing - or anti-subsidy - duties on goods from "non-market economies."
Chen said US criticism of China was unfounded.
"The US government had subsidized its companies, like the three big automakers ... but China did not criticize these moves or start massive countervailing actions against such moves," Chen said.
Chen added that China's yuan exchange rate was now close to its fair value, and China had no intention of letting the yuan appreciate sharply.
Asked about a World Trade Organization Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance meeting that would discuss the relationship between exchange rates and trade, Chen said the yuan should not be what he called an "academic discussion."
"I have noticed that the US trade representative and treasury secretary have noted to the Congress that they would use the meeting, as well as other events, to push forward yuan reform," Chen said.
"When I heard about this, I thought I heard wrong. They should push the US dollar reform since the US trade deficit is about 4.8 percent (of GDP)," he said.
"China believes all countries should maintain the basic stability of their exchange rates, against the background of global financial crisis," he said. "Any country's measures to devalue its own currencies or force other countries' currencies to appreciate is not appropriate."
China's growing manufacturing strength has been coupled with a rising trade surplus that has exacerbated friction with the United States and other trading partners.
US President Barack Obama is set to sign the bill into law to allow duties to be imposed on subsidized goods from China and Vietnam.
"We follow the rules of the WTO, but we have no obligation to follow domestic laws or regulations in any specific country that go beyond international rules," Chen told a news conference during the annual meeting of parliament.
Chen said China had done a better job of bringing balance to global trade than the United States, bringing its trade surplus down to 2.1 percent of economic output in 2011 while the trade deficit of the United States was 4.8 percent of its gross domestic product.
He said it was clear that the United States had a responsibility to close its own deficit.
"Why did the US have a US$700 billion overall trade deficit? Why did China have an overall trade surplus of only US$150 billion but a trade surplus of US$200 billion with the United States?" Chen responded to a journalist's question.
"Every man free from prejudice and armed with common-sense economics can come to the right conclusion."
Chen's comments came a day after the US Congress passed the bill that Obama is set to sign into law. A US court ruled in December that the US Commerce Department did not have authority to impose countervailing - or anti-subsidy - duties on goods from "non-market economies."
Chen said US criticism of China was unfounded.
"The US government had subsidized its companies, like the three big automakers ... but China did not criticize these moves or start massive countervailing actions against such moves," Chen said.
Chen added that China's yuan exchange rate was now close to its fair value, and China had no intention of letting the yuan appreciate sharply.
Asked about a World Trade Organization Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance meeting that would discuss the relationship between exchange rates and trade, Chen said the yuan should not be what he called an "academic discussion."
"I have noticed that the US trade representative and treasury secretary have noted to the Congress that they would use the meeting, as well as other events, to push forward yuan reform," Chen said.
"When I heard about this, I thought I heard wrong. They should push the US dollar reform since the US trade deficit is about 4.8 percent (of GDP)," he said.
"China believes all countries should maintain the basic stability of their exchange rates, against the background of global financial crisis," he said. "Any country's measures to devalue its own currencies or force other countries' currencies to appreciate is not appropriate."
China's growing manufacturing strength has been coupled with a rising trade surplus that has exacerbated friction with the United States and other trading partners.
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