Congress seeks to level trade imbalances

Where critics see protectionism, others see hope of more sustainable commerce.

from the June 14, 2007 edition

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Boston - As Congress considers how to tackle America's gaping trade deficit, a central question is this: Will the cure be worse than the problem?

In both the House and Senate, bills are emerging designed to penalize nations – China foremost – that allegedly have promoted their exports by illegal means.

Critics of such measures warn that they create at least the appearance of protectionism and risk reversing a long and beneficial global march toward expanding commerce.

Supporters say Congress needs to act to maintain American living standards at a time when other nations increasingly manufacture cutting-edge products, not just toys and textiles. They argue that a tougher approach to enforcing current laws can help stabilize a global economy that has become dangerously imbalanced.

Those two worldviews are clashing this week in the halls of Congress. Legislation introduced Wednesday, for example, aims to deter other nations from manipulating the value of their currencies to make their exports more competitive in world markets.

The debate isn't about whether trade is good, but about how to best secure America's economic interests in an increasingly global economy.

"It's no longer a matter of free trade versus protection, which is really the old paradigm," says Scott Paul, who heads the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a group lobbying for a tougher approach toward trade-law enforcement. "The momentum [for enforcement] has never been greater than it is now."

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