US And Chinese Officials Meeting On Trade Issues
By James A. Morrissey, Washington Correspondent
High-ranking US and Chinese trade officials are meeting in Beijing this week for a periodic
dialogue designed to resolve international trade problems.
US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab and Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez are leading a delegation to a meeting of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). They are delving into a variety of issues related to market access, trade disputes and the growing US/China trade deficit, which is on track to set another annual record. Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson will join the other two cabinet officials in a meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue, which will probe additional issues. Paulson is the Bush administration’s point man on the Chinese currency controversy, so that is likely to be on the agenda, although the Chinese show few signs of giving ground toward letting its currency float.
As the sessions got underway, Schwab said: “The JCCT is a particularly important mechanism for tackling some of the inevitable challenges and differences of our large and complex bilateral trade relationship.” Saying that US farmers and manufacturers are exporting around the world at record rates, Gutierrez said: “While US exports to China, our second largest trading partner, are growing at a rate of almost 17 percent, significant trade barriers to the Chinese market remain. The JCCT provides an important face-to-face platform to address concrete market access issues and strike down these barriers to the fast-growing Chinese market.”
Economic issues are likely to be overshadowed by concerns over unsafe toys and food products, which are causing tensions in both countries.
The meeting is the 18th plenary session of the JCCT, and while few, if any, specific accomplishments ever come out of these meetings, they do provide a backdrop for discussions that can lead to concrete results at a later date.
December 11, 2007
US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab and Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez are leading a delegation to a meeting of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). They are delving into a variety of issues related to market access, trade disputes and the growing US/China trade deficit, which is on track to set another annual record. Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson will join the other two cabinet officials in a meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue, which will probe additional issues. Paulson is the Bush administration’s point man on the Chinese currency controversy, so that is likely to be on the agenda, although the Chinese show few signs of giving ground toward letting its currency float.
As the sessions got underway, Schwab said: “The JCCT is a particularly important mechanism for tackling some of the inevitable challenges and differences of our large and complex bilateral trade relationship.” Saying that US farmers and manufacturers are exporting around the world at record rates, Gutierrez said: “While US exports to China, our second largest trading partner, are growing at a rate of almost 17 percent, significant trade barriers to the Chinese market remain. The JCCT provides an important face-to-face platform to address concrete market access issues and strike down these barriers to the fast-growing Chinese market.”
Economic issues are likely to be overshadowed by concerns over unsafe toys and food products, which are causing tensions in both countries.
The meeting is the 18th plenary session of the JCCT, and while few, if any, specific accomplishments ever come out of these meetings, they do provide a backdrop for discussions that can lead to concrete results at a later date.
December 11, 2007
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