Chinese President Hu Jintao is expected to visit Washington, DC, next week to meet with President Obama and other administration officials. One key issue he is slated to discuss is China’s undervalued currency.
For years, China has manipulated its currency – keeping it somewhere between 20 and 40 percent lower than the U.S. dollar. This unfair trade practice makes Chinese products cheaper and, consequently, U.S. products more expensive.
The end-result has been the loss of as many as 2.4 million American jobs and a rising trade deficit as companies rush to move production to China – to also take advantage of the country’s cheap labor practices. Through the month of November 2010, the U.S. deficit with China was running at an annual rate of $275.3 billion. Economists say the growing deficit is on track to set an all-time annual high.
The Washington Post is currently running a poll asking readers if they think the president should pressure China to reevaluate its currency policy. The IAM has led the call in demanding the White House take action against China’s illegal trade dealings and urges members to take part in the poll by voting “yes.”
