From The Editor: Trade And Politics
From The Editor
Trade And PoliticsAs the 2004 U.S. presidential election campaign picks up speed, international trade issues are sure to follow terrorism and the sagging U.S. economy to take up a front-and-center spot in debates and media commentary in the country.In the United States, where 2.7 million manufacturing jobs disappeared in the past two years, many believe, at least in part, an undervalued Chinese yuan is to be blamed because it makes it impossible for U.S.-made goods to compete with Chinese imports, including textile products.When George W. Bush sent Treasury Secretary John Snow to Asia to meet with his counterparts in early September, part of Snows mission was to convince Asian economies, especially China, to revalue their currencies. However, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperations (APEC) response was luke warm at best. China politely but firmly told the U.S. it will allow a market-driven exchange rate when the time comes and the time is not now.Feeling such heat, will Bush be pushed into installing other trade barriers? Most likely not, especially against China because of the role China plays in dealing with North Korea, not to mention the millions of U.S. dollars China holds in its foreign reserves. Most Asian manufacturing industries can probably still enjoy relatively easy access to the vast U.S. market. But politics aside, is a market-driven exchange rate such a bad thing? Or for that matter, are living wages, safe working environments, environmentally sound manufacturing practices, so on and so forth, bad for business? As Asia becomes more integrated into the global trade community, demands will be made on the region to resolve these issues, and they will likely be made more frequently than every four years.By Carmen Pang, Executive Editorcpang@TextileWorldAsia.com
Fall 2003
Trade And PoliticsAs the 2004 U.S. presidential election campaign picks up speed, international trade issues are sure to follow terrorism and the sagging U.S. economy to take up a front-and-center spot in debates and media commentary in the country.In the United States, where 2.7 million manufacturing jobs disappeared in the past two years, many believe, at least in part, an undervalued Chinese yuan is to be blamed because it makes it impossible for U.S.-made goods to compete with Chinese imports, including textile products.When George W. Bush sent Treasury Secretary John Snow to Asia to meet with his counterparts in early September, part of Snows mission was to convince Asian economies, especially China, to revalue their currencies. However, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperations (APEC) response was luke warm at best. China politely but firmly told the U.S. it will allow a market-driven exchange rate when the time comes and the time is not now.Feeling such heat, will Bush be pushed into installing other trade barriers? Most likely not, especially against China because of the role China plays in dealing with North Korea, not to mention the millions of U.S. dollars China holds in its foreign reserves. Most Asian manufacturing industries can probably still enjoy relatively easy access to the vast U.S. market. But politics aside, is a market-driven exchange rate such a bad thing? Or for that matter, are living wages, safe working environments, environmentally sound manufacturing practices, so on and so forth, bad for business? As Asia becomes more integrated into the global trade community, demands will be made on the region to resolve these issues, and they will likely be made more frequently than every four years.By Carmen Pang, Executive Editorcpang@TextileWorldAsia.com
Fall 2003
Advertisement