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I am curious what agricultural products are they concerned about? I understand that China is taking the lion's share of manufacturing jobs in the world but I find it hard to believe that any significant portion of the highly subsidized U.S. agribusiness is being hurt. The only one I could conceivably see being hurt is tobacco. I also don't believe that if a tarrif is imposed suddenly global corporations will choose to move their factories to America. The previous poster who mentioned the buying up of dollars as being the problem is correct. The continuing focus on China by cold warriors however ignores Japan, and South Korea both of whom engage in the same practice. Additionaly, in Japan's case, the Japanese have proven they can sustain this practice for a very long time. (Personally I blame America's love affair with Japan on "I Love Lucy" but that is another rant entirely.) Most of the economic articles I have read say they do not think that China can sustain this for much longer.

I also find the continuing arguement of there go American jobs to be mostly ridiculous. Sure there they go but if not to China they will go somewhere else. Right now the majority of jobs that are being taken by China are not American jobs rather they are Mexican jobs, which were taken from South Korea, which were taken from Taiwan, which were taken from some other location with cheap labor. If a high tariff is imposed I simply see the majority of these plants moving on to greener pastures none of which are located in America. The American economy has become largely a service economy. These jobs are also disappearing, but right now the service jobs are going to countries like India that have a longer tradition of English education, and not China. China is getting high tech manufacturing jobs but these jobs were already gone or would be moving to anywhere they could get cheap labor and dodge safety and environmental legislation.

Finally, since when has the U.S. ever engaged in true free trade or fair trade. I certainly hope we don't start now. It is only through engaging in protectionism and other non-free and non-fair trade practices that America has come out on top. No country on earth to my knowledge has ever come out ahead practicing strict free or fair trade. Frankly I don't think anyone has ever even tried maybe some libertarian reading this knows of an example. So, I really wish people would stop asking for free or fair trade as I think it is this rhetoric that gave us such wonderful legislation as NAFTA.

I am curious what agricultural products are they concerned about?

I have read one report regarding corn.

One of the US' largest export markets is to the Asia Pacific. They are being undermined though in the international arena.

Here's how. The Yen is a supposed floating currency...but the Yuan is not...in a strange and complex dynamic, by pegging the Yuan to the dollar Chinese goods not only become cheaper in the US but also in Asia. When the dollar declines, do does the RMB.

The net result is that US corn is more expensive than the alternatives. Its because of the peg.

Our tarriffs have little to do with it. Our % subsidies are dwarfed by China's % of the same. (IE one bushel of corn might have 5% subsidies in the US...the same from China might have 40%...)

The previous poster who mentioned the buying up of dollars as being the problem is correct.

It can actually work in more than one way. They can sell their own currencies too, not just buy ours. They can either drive ours up, or drive theirs down... similar results either way.

I also find the continuing arguement of there go American jobs to be mostly ridiculous. Sure there they go but if not to China they will go somewhere else. Right now the majority of jobs that are being taken by China are not American jobs rather they are Mexican jobs, which were taken from South Korea, which were taken from Taiwan, which were taken from some other location with cheap labor.

In a way you are right, but in a way not. Asia and Mexico are getting screwed too. That by very nature hurts America. 1/3 of all of our exports go to Asia alone, not including China. When they get nailed, we get nailed. For every dollar we have traditionally imported from Mexico we have traditionally exported 75 cents. Thats a tad better than the dollar to ten cents deal with China.

In a complex arrangement, the case and point is that China's peg leads to disruptive price differentials based on artificial means.

In Mexico and Asia they compete, yeah, but its not a solely price competition as in the case of China. Without the disruptive practices of China American manufacturers will often become relatively and absolutely more competitive. Hence investment dollars come here to hire people here.

America can beat China and Mexico and Asian countries like a drum...on a level feild that is.

When the feild gets leveled though, investors realize that, and they hire more people here.

US manufacturers export over $50 billion a month. Just as in the same case with the corn above, Chinese manufacturing (often set up visa via US companies) undercuts our exporting power.

It kills jobs faster than salt on a slug.

The ball game will be changed significantly if things level out in regards to the playing feild.

I also find the continuing arguement of there go American jobs to be mostly ridiculous.

In other words, some jobs won't come back... but a lot, a WHOLE lot will. And when they come back because of our comparative advantage there will be many new jobs created that were not in existence before.

The idea of globalization is to find out who has comparative advantages and invest in those countries. China is playing so that they have a comparative advantage in everything and its not working for us or anyone else.

And when they come back because of our comparative advantage there will be many new jobs created that were not in existence before.

Until equilibrium is restored the former of those two will not come back. There is no painless way to do it. China is going to have to just take it. The corporations that invested up to their eyeballs in China will have to take it too.

The latter of the new jobs I referred to will not happen until the former come back to where they belong. We are looking at long term problems otherwise.