China and US head for trade war

China and US head for trade war

China could face censure at the World Trade Organisation after the US and Europe lodged a joint complaint over its restrictions on raw materials exports

Europe and the United States announced last night co-ordinated action against China for busting World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules by restricting exports of essential raw materials, raising fears of a damaging east-west trade war in the depths of the global recession.

Ron Kirk, the US trade representative, accused Beijing of putting a "giant thumb on the scale" by restricting exports of commodities including silicon, coke and zinc, to give Chinese manufacturers an unfair advantage over their international rivals. "It's our job to make sure we remove that thumb from that scale," he said in Washington. "Today's action is proof of our commitment to level the playing field in this area."

Well who hasn't seen this coming? Here we go...
Contrary to "Pop Culture " Beliefs the US and EU are still the big dogs. This can get ugly real fast. With the shrinking of the US manufacturing sector from the glory days of over 30% of world production now down to 21% and falling. It is becoming very apparent the US needs to start Manufacturing again. But how can one compete on an uneven playing field?

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Some feel our real problem is not under manufacturing but over consumption our industries cannot keep up with our own demands. All too often too many statements are made that only increase the confusion of the reality of the situation. Yes the US has lost manufacturing jobs. Yes our industry is on the decline. No arguments there. But there are many ways to judge the situation. I even wrote a thread on topic Here I understand all too well. No need to preach to the choir.

Most of what the US does produce are higher end higher technology that the average consumer would not see or is even aware of they would not find them on the shelves at Walmart. Heres the kicker they are not all defense related either.
Source

World’s largest manufacturer
Published 6/23/09
Filed under: Miscellaneous, Politics

What country is the world’s largest manufacturer by a huge margin? If you have a kid, you would think it must be China — I don’t know the last time I saw I toy (or anything else, really) that wasn’t made there.

Wrong.

Accounting for more than 20% of the world’s total manufacturing output is the United States.

Japan is a distant second at just over 13%. Then China (12%), and Germany (8.2%). Then, well, everyone else. (Data come from the Dept. of Labor and the United Nations.)

Revenue Leaders by Nation
Country/Province Number of Companies Revenue Total (Millions) Average Company Revenue Growth (%)*
United States 290 $5,386,377 10.50
Japan 233 $3,624,074 6.74
Germany 40 $1,269,963 11.97
France 48 $1,103,959 4.23
United Kingdom 36 $882,521 17.30
China 36 $606,892 19.74
Netherlands 13 $599,939 7.97
South Korea 37 $574,252 27.46
Switzerland 21 $364,031 2.90
Italy 15 $356,603 5.75
Russia 8 $338,870 32.37
Canada 27 $335,500 24.20
Taiwan 29 $328,564 5.47
India 12 $206,903 48.20
Finland 16 $189,505 0.56
Brazil 10 $184,523 23.04
Sweden 14 $161,619 6.29
Spain 6 $149,468 7.73
Luxembourg 3 $145,569 14.33
Australia 12 $143,580 38.52
*Manufacturers that did not appear on the 2008 IW 1000 list were not included in revenue growth averages.

Originally posted by SLAYER69
Well who hasn't seen this coming? Here we go...
Contrary to "Pop Culture " Beliefs the US and EU are still the big dogs. This can get ugly real fast. With the shrinking of the US manufacturing sector from the glory days of over 30% of world production now down to 21% and falling. It is becoming very apparent the US needs to start Manufacturing again.

Here is a related thread on why this is happening, who is doig it, and where it's taking us.

I can't help but wonder what the WTO will actually "do" about this "complaint."

As a political or ideological organization where is it's power base? Perhaps the IMF? And we just dumped another chunk of our tax-payer dollars into their coffers, so..., what? Does that buy us leverage?

I suspect that we have a surprise up our 'economic' sleeve... and I suspect it has to do with material science developments. They had better hope we don't make a tech-level jump in manufacturing something they need from us.

Unless our robber baron-owned politicians just 'give' it to them because of some one-world ruling class fantasy they secretly harbor....

[edit on 24-6-2009 by Maxmars]

reply to post by Maxmars

World Wealth Dn 19.5% In '08,Wipes Out Two Yr Gains-Report

While the world's wealth is still concentrated in three areas - U.S., Japan and Germany - the ranks are continuing to shift.

The U.S. saw a sharp 18.5% decline in the number of millionaires, but remains the largest home to high-net-worth individuals, with its 2.5 million HNWIs accounting for 28.7% of the global HNWI population.

China's HNWI population surpassed that of the U.K. to hit the rankings at number four in list of countries having the most wealthy individuals and Brazil jumped two spots from 2007 to make the top ten.

Foreign Direct Investment in China Falls 6.8% on Global Slump

By Bloomberg News

July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Foreign direct investment in China fell for a ninth month from a year earlier as companies pared spending to weather the global financial crisis.

Investment slid 6.8 percent in June to $8.96 billion, the commerce ministry said at a briefing in Beijing today. The pace of the decline slowed from 17.8 percent in May and 17.9 percent in the first six months.

The detention of Rio Tinto Group staff this month for the alleged theft of state secrets could make some companies more wary of investing in China. Concerns may be offset by signs that the world’s third-biggest economy is rebounding on record lending and a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package.

US exports rose to shrink trade deficit in May

The US trade gap plunged to its lowest level in 10 years in May as exports jumped up, while weak and shaky American economy dragged imports down.

The deficit gap was recorded at the lowest level since November 1999 at $26 billion in May, down 9.8 percent.

Exports soared to $123.3 billion, up 1.6 percent, the biggest increase since July 2008.

UPDATE 1-Chinese FDI slows for ninth straight month

BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) - China drew $43 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first six months of the year, 17.9 percent less than in the same period in 2008, the Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday.

That compared with a 20.4 percent fall in the first five months.
Article Controls In June alone, China attracted $8.96 billion in FDI, down 6.8 percent from a year earlier.

US trade gap lowest in nine years

The US saw its deficit narrow to $26bn (£16bn) in May, its lowest level in more than nine years, according to figures from the Commerce Department.

Imports continued to fall while exports increased, pushing the deficit to its lowest level since November 1999.

The deficit, the difference between what the US exports and imports, was 9.8% lower in May compared to April.

China FDI Falls 6.8% in June

Actual FDI in the six months ended June 30 totaled US$43 billion, down 17.9% from a year earlier, Yao said. China's actual FDI in the first five months fell 20.41% from a year earlier.

China's outward direct investment in non-financial sectors in the first half fell 51.7% from a year earlier to $12.4 billion, Yao said. The fall was magnified by some large outward investments in the year-earlier period, he said.

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Increase in Exports Bodes Well for Growth

Tentative signs of life in global trade are emerging, buoying growth forecasts in the U.S. and China, two of the world's most important economies.

U.S. exports grew in May, while imports fell, helping to narrow the trade deficit to its lowest level in nearly nine years. The report prompted economists to revise up their estimates of second-quarter gross domestic product. Some even suggested the economy might have grown slightly in the second quarter.

-----Thread Update-----

I've been keeping an eye on this. Latest thread is up.

EU-China tug-of-war hampers global recovery drive

BRUSSELS — Fears of a global currency war land centre-stage Wednesday as Europe and China warm up for crunch IMF talks with a head-to-head summit focused on the yuan which the West says is "undervalued."

The issue already overshadowed a meeting of 46 European and Asian leaders in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, but now the European Union finally locks horns with Beijing over its role in shaping the value of China's currency.

reply to post by SLAYER69


everyone with half a brain has been paying attention lol

your right those glory days are over china is being fueled by us not only by this governments borrowing from them and by the average american consumer.

the biggest reason that this country has declined and the wealth has declined well hate to make a partisan statement but here it is anyway.....

the massive socialist tendencies of the current government added to all the collective achievements of the past leftist governments.

china doesn't have liberals and thats the biggest reason china rises and will continue to rise theres not stopping it

there is not one thing that this country can or will do because a select group of people have become to selfish.

dark days are ahead my friend dark days.... and one day soon the majority of us citizens wont be whining about speaking spanish they will be whining about speaking mandarin chinese.

its going to get worse its going to get a lot worse the non stop slaughter of wealth will continue as normal

and when there are no jobs, no money they will have noone to blame but themselves.

I agree with you also there are very dark times on the horizon,a trade war with China has other options as well this could be seen as a pre-cursor to an economic collapse of some sort

I don't think that China has anything wrong in restricting the export of raw materials,however,the raw materials are theirs,they have the right to decide their things.

reply to post by Lafaso870


You're completely right but now in this global economy, withholding the goods pisses people off, and you know what happens when America doesn't get what she wants. =/