MANUFACTURERS FORM COALITION AGAINST CHINA ‘MARKET ECONOMY’ STATUS: The U.S. aluminum, steel and textile industries are ramping up pressure on President Barack Obama not to declare China a “market economy” this year, a decision they say would put hundreds of thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs at risk by weakening anti-dumping protections.
[Adam Behsudi| March 16, 2016 |Politico]
“Our industries can compete against any other market-oriented competitors, but we cannot compete against the Chinese government,” Heidi Brock, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, said in a statement provided to POLITICO from the newly formed Manufacturers for Trade Enforcement coalition representing 800,000 direct manufacturing jobs.
China believes it is entitled to market economy status as of Dec. 11, which is the 15th anniversary of its entry into the World Trade Organization. But as that date approaches, the United States and many other governments are taking the position the upgrade is not automatic. The declaration would require the Commerce Department to change how it calculates Chinese “dumping” and could lead to significantly lower duties on steel and other products.
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