WRAPUP 2-China warns of trade war if U.S. bill passes

[OhioChick]

Source: Reuters

Tue Oct 4, 2011 5:58am EDT

* Beijing accuses U.S. senate of "politicising" trade issues

* Warns of trade war, says bill would violate WTO rules

* Forcing the yuan higher would damage world recovery

* Says bill will not address underlying economic problems (Adds analyst quote, Xinhua commentary, links)

BEIJING, Oct 4 (Reuters) - An angry China warned Washington on Tuesday that passage of a bill aimed at forcing Beijing to let its currency rise could lead to a trade war between the world's top two economies.

China's central bank and the ministries of commerce and foreign affairs accused Washington of "politicising" currency issues and putting the global economy at risk after U.S. senators voted on Monday to start a week of debate on the bill.

The response suggested China sees a greater risk from the proposed bill than it has in the past when U.S. lawmakers attempted to put forward similar legislation to speed up the pace of appreciation in the yuan, or renminbi.

Beijing made similar remarks last year after the House of Representatives passed a currency bill that later failed to make any further progress in Congress.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/04/usa-china-idUSL3E7L40IA20111004

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Bring It.

[SkyDaddy7]

1. Exactly! "Bring it!" nt.

[TomClash]

2. I couldn't agree more nt

[Dreamer Tatum]

3. China strengthening its currency would put Americans back to work

so I say bring it. Protectionism is a long-run stupid idea, but in the short run it works.

[JDPriestly]

18. There is a difference between fair trade and protectionism.

Right now, China is practicing protectionism. We have been trying to get fair trade -- but getting unfair trade from China and some other countries instead.

We cannot afford to support the Chinese economy any more. China needs to grow up and play fair. This law should pass because it is good for the US.

China only thinks of what is good for China. We should only think of what is good for us.

[sarcasmo]

22. +1

[PETRUS]

24. US behavior is a far cry from fair/free trade

We seek all kinds of protection, but only for privileged segments. And we manipulate our currency, btw.

Capitalists are often at each others throats. (China's capitalists, US capitalists.) Especially when strangling working people isn't working out as well as usual.

[Downwinder]

4. Trade war is OK. I cant afford to buy anything anyway.

[onpatrol98]

5. hmm...

I'm not certain that we would be the winner in a trade war with China. They have a large, cheap, labor force. And, other countries have a growing middle class. America isn't the only game in town anymore, in terms of a population willing and able to buy. Shucks, lately...

[Imajika]

6. China still needs us more than we need them...

But yeah, I'm assuming President Obama opposes the legislation anyway so it has no hope of ever becoming law.

[quakerboy]

17. You assume

That either side wins. that does not seem to be how trade wars work. A country merely survives a trade war, and some clever guy with all the resources wins.

In reality, we do not need Chinese manufacturing. We like it. Its convenient. It allows us all to have computers, barbies for our kids, and bicycles for everyone.

But we never use the bicycles, the barbies break rapidly, and the computers have to be replaced every year. We do not need that. We like it. Its handy. But we could learn to make our own stuff again. It would take time. It would wreak havoc on our economy if things went totally south and we were completely cut off from cheap Chinese manufacturing. Lots of things would have to be reconsidered while we retooled and learned how to make things again.

I think in the end, after we figured out how to deal with the many little internal crisis that would be sparked, the personal sufferings and tragedies, we would be a better country in the end.

[JDPriestly]

19. Fine. Do you actually have money to buy things?

Most people don't. We could survive on secondhand stuff for a decade anyway.

[Dreamer Tatum]

21. If we lock out China's goods, they are effed BIG time.

Or, if we simply devalued OUR currency, our goods would look cheaper to Europe, so we could compete
with China.

[bongbong]

7. Key sentence in the OP

"Beijing made similar remarks last year after the House of Representatives passed a currency bill that later failed to make any further progress in Congress."

They'll make a lot of noise for the folks back home & for campaign soundbites, then they'll follow the orders of their Big Business bosses.

[Muskypundit]

8. The only country in this world that embraces free trade is the U.S

We give money to outsource for Christ sakes. Who does that?! I say its high time for a little protectionism. If everyone else can do it, I say we do it too. It would help the world recovery, seeing as the world follows the u.s in recovery, not China.

[dadzilla]

9. Trade War???

Perhaps our political class hasn't noticed, but China has already declared a trade war and so far they are winning.

[area51]

10. "Forcing the yuan higher would damage world recovery"

What recovery? :shrug:

[brentspeak]

11. Sure, let's call China's wall of tariffs, subsidized industries, wholesale dumping of cheap crap

onto our shores, and currency manipulation "trade".

Thanks for the laugh, China.

[saras]

14. We should have thought of that before getting so deeply in bed with them

It's not like we didn't know or anything.

[brentspeak]

20. Many Americans, including myself, who didn't want China given MFN status

knew what would happen. Didn't matter, however -- corrupt politicians (including some corrupt Democrats among the Republicans) were only too happy to cash in the checks so that China could kill the U.S.

[GeorgeGist]

12. Be careful what you wish for ...

devaluing the dollar could go terribly wrong.

[brentspeak]

13. Yeah, because borrowing $1 trillion+ from China has gone so incredibly right

:eyes:

[Populist_Prole]

15. Oh no!! A nation with a massive trade surplus with the US won't trade with us anymore!!

The horror!! :-)

[Javaman]

16. rhetoric.

neither side can afford it.

something bizarre will be worked out.

with china winning and us losing more.

[AverageJoe90]

23. Bring it on, ya tossers. n/t