Posted by aburke on 01/10/2012

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As part of an ongoing effort to be more assertive with Beijing, President Obama plans to set up a government task force to monitor China for commercial and trade violations, reports the Wall Street Journal:

“The group, called the Enforcement Task Force, will aim to enforce U.S. trade rules. Despite the generic name, officials said the group is specifically meant to target China. It will include officials from various government agencies, including the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department, the Energy Department and U.S. Trade Representative's office.”

The President is expected to announce this initiative during or near the time of his State of the Union address on January 24th. In addition to implementing this task force, President Obama will possibly continue to crack down on China as this election year progresses, with a tough stance on Beijing projected to appeal to voters across the political spectrum.

As the Wall Street Journal put it,“Confronting China has cross-party appeal. Democrats, particularly organized labor, would like the U.S. to get tougher on Beijing. That stance also resonates among Republicans and business owners, who have expressed concerns about Beijing having an unfair economic advantage.”

In addition to the public’s support for an increasingly guarded relationship with China, the Administration also faces pressure from Congress to crack down on Beijing’s illegal currency manipulation. This past October, a bipartisan group of 63 senators passed S. 1619, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, which would tackle China’s artificially undervalued yuan.

We’re pleased to see that the Administration is making a concerted effort to monitor and address issues surrounding our relationship with China, and we hope that these actions become more frequent and more assertive as the election year progresses. Though the GOP presidential candidates can offer up rhetoric on how they plan to tackle China, President Obama has the opportunity to make a real difference on this front during the remainder of his term—and we know that voters will notice.

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