China Should Play By the Rules Says Rep. Sánchez

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ways and Means Committee Member Linda Sánchez issued the following statement at today's hearing on China's trade and industrial policies:

"It is time to stand up for American workers and producers by preventing China from continuing to take advantage of the world trade system.

"While we pursue free trade, China continues to manipulate currency, keeping the price of Chinese goods and services artificially low while making the prices of American goods and services artificially high. This isn't free trade at all – much less fair trade. Our trade deficit with China has cost the U.S. about 2.4 million jobs according to the Economic Policy Institute.

"China's dirty trade tactics, including: condoning intellectual property theft, subsidizing state owned enterprises and foreign investors to lure U.S. jobs overseas, favoring Chinese products, restricting worker freedoms, and manipulating its currency, all benefit Chinese companies while U.S. companies, workers, and farmers get the shaft. The biggest victims are American workers and their families as they face lost jobs, downward pressure on wages, and reduced ability to influence the quality of their lives.

"In addition, I find it abhorrent that Chinese workers still lack fundamental rights. Many of us have sought to strengthen labor standards among our trading partners, reflecting basic international rights. Adopting these standards can help to build a healthier and more sustainable global economy.

"Our economy is already suffering, experiencing its largest trade deficits in history, and China has been the biggest culprit. It is possible for the United States and China both to benefit from trade, but only if we are both playing by the same rules. It is time for China to play fair."