WASHINGTON, D.C., April 14, 2005 – Testifying this morning before the House Ways and Means Committee, a small manufacturer and National Association of Manufacturers member declared that, “Competing against China’s low wages is tough enough, but a deck stacked with unfair trade practices makes it practically impossible.”Richard L. Wilkey, President of Fisher-Barton, Inc. near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, employs roughly 500 people in the manufacture of machine components, lawnmower blades and other metal parts.
“No other trade subject comes close to commanding the attention of manufacturers the way China does,” Wilkey reported to committee members. “We need a positive and balanced trading relationship with China that reflects market forces. And we can hold our own with China, as my company has, by investing in technology and innovation to boost productivity.”
Wilkey observed that he has seen “many companies around me driven out of business by Chinese competition, and many were my suppliers. Not all of these companies were dinosaurs – a number of them had made significant investments in technology and modern business methods to remain competitive. They had done all the right things.” Wilkey said the NAM is calling for actions on several key issues. “We want the Treasury Department to cite China for currency manipulation; the House and Senate should help offset Chinese subsidies with legislation (H.R.1216 and S.593) that applies countervailing duty law to that non-market economy; and we need to partner with the E.U., Canada and Japan in a WTO case focusing on China’s lack of intellectual property protection.”
Noting that the EU and Japan sell much more to China than the U.S. does, Wilkey also called on the U.S. government for a massive export promotion program targeting China.
“We do not have five years or ten years to solve this problem,” Wilkey explained. “We know that free trade properly administered benefits all of us. We must see to it that the consensus for free trade is maintained in this country. So, we look to the Administration and Congress to see to it that China plays by the rules and a workable system is preserved.”
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