February 14, 2006 – Looking to put a halt to China’s unfair trade practices, Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced bipartisan legislation that would revoke normal trade relations with China.
Senators Dorgan and Graham pointed specifically to China’s currency manipulation, piracy of copyrighted American products and a ballooning trade deficit as reasons to repeal China’s trade status.
“By repealing it (China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations status) and going to a year by year analysis of China’s trade policies and an annual decision on what its trade status should be, we will provide a powerful incentive for China to change its policies and start trading with our country in a way that is fair to American workers, American farmers and American manufacturers,” Dorgan said in a statement.
The bill is likely to face stiff resistance from the Republican Bush administration. US Trade Representative Rob Portman has already said halting normal trade relations with China would do nothing to lower the record U.S. trade deficit.
Read the entire Reuters article.
