WASHINGTON-The Bush administration, charging Chinese trade practices hurt U.S. tech firms and facing mounting criticism about layoffs heading into the 2004 election season, has proposed a further Commerce Department reorganization in hopes of reducing a $40 billion trade deficit.
Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, addressing the Detroit Economic Club yesterday, said the department wants to create a new unfair trade practices team, a new office of industry analysis and a new assistant secretary for trade promotion.
The proposed changes and other initiatives will be spelled out in a report filed with President Bush later this month.
“Americans are willing to compete on even terms with any country in the world, but we will not stand for unfair competition. We are going to aggressively target unfair trade practices wherever they occur so that we can help create American jobs and improve the economy,” said Evans. “American manufacturers can compete against any country’s white collars and blue collars. But we will not submit to competing against another country’s choke collars.”
In addition to trade barriers and intellectual property piracy, Evans accused China of being guilty of forcing the technology transfers from firms launching joint ventures in the country.
Last month, RCR Wireless News reported that congressional appropriators want the International Trade Administration-a Commerce Department unit-restructured to stem the tide of job losses that critics blame on China and others. China, the world’s largest mobile-phone market, has an $11.3 billion trade surplus with the United States.
Under the Evans plan, the new unfair trade practices team would reside in the Import Administration under ITA purview.
On a separate front, the Bush administration is trying to line up a lawmaker to sponsor legislation that would merge the Technology Administration, National Telecommunications and Information Administration and e-commerce functions of ITA.
