This week, Congress is hearing from labor interests and economists, urging different agendas for U.S. trade with China. What – if anything – should be changed to ensure America’s competitiveness? John Taylor, a Hoover Institute fellow and former Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, and Jonathan Jacoby, associate director for international economic policy at the Center for American Progress, debated the issue on “Morning Call.”
Taylor believes that maintaining current U.S. economic relations with China are essential. “The global economy is moving so well because of the trade policy we’ve been pursuing and we need to continue that,” said Taylor, who thinks it would be a “tragedy” if the U.S. pulled back on trade promotion authority at this time.
“This is the opportunity for the U.S. to show leadership and be great, but Congress needs to give the president the opportunity,” Taylor said.
Jacoby feels that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is not moving fast enough for Congress, and describes the current trade policy as “skewed.” Jacoby said, “The current policy is not a two-way street. China has been able to manipulate its currency and has a number of other indirect subsidies, and Paulson has been slow to take up some of the issues that Congress is starting to address.”
