US lawmakers lash out at trade ties with China
02 Feb 2007
Washington: Members of the US Congress have called for legislative action to deal with the United States'' trade imbalance with China, which has increased 155 per cent to $213.5 billion in 2006, up from $83 billion in 2000.
Lawmakers at the US-China economic and security review commission echoed the government''s charge against China of keeping its currency artificially low against the dollar, which makes Chinese imports cheap in comparison to American goods while making US products expensive in the Chinese markets.
They say this has led to the burgeoning trade imbalance between the two countries. US imports a third of Chinese exports, making it China''s top trading partner.
Democrat and Republican members of the Congress wanted the administration to threaten China with economic sanctions if it failed to change its trade policies.
