Contacts: Wayne Ranick (412) 562-2444, wranick@usw.org
(Pittsburgh) – Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers (USW), issued the following statement following today’s trade deficit report:
“Today’s trade deficit numbers are a referendum on our nation’s trade policies, and it is obvious that our policies are failing America by outsourcing production and increasing income inequality. Not surprisingly, China again tops the list of those countries whose predatory and protectionist policies fuel our trade deficit. It is high time for our country to acknowledge that its trade practices do not work for the vast majority of Americans.
“Free trade ideologues focus on exports, but they fail to tell the whole story. The overall trade balance is a much better economic indicator, and it tells us that an unacceptably high and unsustainable trade deficit of more than $700 billion causes a significant drag on economic growth. Calling for new trade agreements using the same old template, while ignoring currency manipulation by our trading partners, and relying on dialogue rather than action, is not a solution to this problem. Indeed, with the stroke of his pen, the President could call China for what it is: a currency manipulator. We could then begin the process of gaining fair access to that market and reducing the subsidies Chinese goods currently enjoy as they flood our market.
“America needs to hit the pause button and have a real, honest public debate about our approach to trade. Policymakers promised that NAFTA and then China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) would yield enormous benefits. Well, the results are in and all point to the need for a complete overall of the nation’s trade policy.
“As President Obama said in his State of the Union address, this year’s focus should be on creating jobs and addressing income inequality. While they are absolutely the right priorities, the status quo approach to trade is at odds with these goals, and today’s trade deficit report is only further testimony to that fact.”
The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors. For more information: http://www.usw.org/.
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