The latest monthly U.S. trade figures were released this morning by the Department of Commerce:
- In April 2012, the U.S. racked up an international goods and services trade deficit of $50.1 billion, down from $52.6 billion in March.
- The monthly goods deficit with China rose to $24.6 billion, up from $21.7 billion in March.
Said Scott Paul, Executive Director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM):
"The surging trade deficit with China will only grow worse unless we stop China's currency manipulation. The modest strengthening of the Yuan has completely stalled this year and is headed in the wrong direction.
"Meanwhile, the Administration and Congress look the other way. Last month, the Treasury Department failed to designate China as a currency manipulator for the seventh consecutive time in this Administration. Speaker Boehner shows no willingness to allow bipartisan legislation to deter China's currency manipulation from coming to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote.
"If China's economy is indeed slowing down, American workers shouldn't be the ones to bail them out. It's time for Congress and the Administration to act."
There are several actions Congress and the Administration could take right now to create jobs in America and lower the trade deficit:
1. House Speaker John Boehner should permit a vote on bipartisan legislation that would deter China from manipulating its currency. This bill would pass overwhelmingly, as it did in the Senate last year.
2. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should designate China as a currency manipulator. While the value of China’s currency has risen somewhat against the dollar over the past year, it has stalled this year. The yuan still has a long way to go to reach equilibrium, and has only kept pace with the rate of change of the dollar’s decline against other major currencies.
3. The Obama Administration should launch a series of self-initiated trade cases against surges of Chinese imports in key sectors such as auto parts.
4. The President’s export initiative should evolve from an exercise in doubling exports to a strategy that dramatically lowers our trade deficit, particularly in high-value and strategic sectors of the economy.
5. The President and Congress should work together to pass a “Made in America” agenda that promotes reshoring, investing in our infrastructure, training a skilled workforce, leveraging federal procurement to support U.S. industry, and targeting tax breaks to domestic production.