U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned China on Monday that Washington will not accept new industries being decimated by Chinese imports, as she wrapped up four days of meetings to press her case for Beijing to rein in excess industrial capacity.
Yellen told a press conference that U.S. President Joe Biden would not allow a repeat of the "China shock" of the early 2000s, when a flood of Chinese imports destroyed about 2 million American manufacturing jobs.
She did not, however, threaten new tariffs or other trade actions should Beijing continue its massive state support for electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, solar panels and other green energy goods.
Yellen used her second trip to China in nine months to complain that Beijing's overinvestment has built factory capacity far exceeding domestic demand, while fast-growing exports of these products threaten companies in the U.S. and other countries.
She said a newly created exchange forum to discuss the excess capacity issue would need time to reach solutions.
Yellen drew parallels to the pain felt in the U.S. steel sector in the past.
"We've seen this story before," she told reporters. "Over a decade ago, massive PRC (People's Republic of China) government support led to below-cost Chinese steel that flooded the global market and decimated industries across the world and in the United States."
Yellen added: "I've made it clear that President Biden and I will not accept that reality again."
When the global market is flooded with artificially cheap Chinese products, she said, "the viability of American and other foreign firms is put into question."
Yellen said her exchanges with Chinese officials had advanced American interests and that U.S. concerns over excess industrial capacity were shared by Washington's European allies, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines and other emerging markets.
@ISIDEWITH1mo1MO
How do you feel about the U.S. banning imports from China to protect American jobs, considering it might affect the variety and price of goods available?
@9LDVW871mo1MO
I belive that this is important because when people start to worry then it can cause issues like people getting their money out of the bank because they are scared of what will happen.
@9LDVMR21mo1MO
I feel that the items we get from out of state imports, can be useful and it makes us have a little less jobs, benefiting us. I think no they shouldn't ban it.
@9LDVKCX1mo1MO
they ae helping us american keep our jobs .
@9LDVCCDWomen’s Equality1mo1MO
It is very concerning because a lot of products come from China
@ISIDEWITH1mo1MO
@ISIDEWITH1mo1MO
Should the threat to jobs from foreign imports prompt a government to intervene, or should the market dictate which products succeed?
@GatoradeWillVeteran1mo1MO
To prevent China Shock, UK politicians are targeting “cheap” Chinese imports like:
Excavators and
Electric bikes
This is China’s revenge against the British Empire, which smuggled opium into China 200 years ago!
But seriously, how do cheap excavators hurt a nation???
Buy as many as you can and build your country.
And anyone believing in “climate change” should be glad to have cheap electric bikes from China.
@ISIDEWITH1mo1MO
An act of economic war. Whatever happened to free markets?
@ExcludedPunditUnity1mo1MO
Block Chinese exports import products from Mexico made in China lol
@ShyWalrusRepublican1mo1MO
It’s communism to force us citizens to buy lesser quality goods just so a few wealthy can keep market share. Anything she does will in zero ways help our citizens, she only represents wealth
@ThrillingLapwingVeteran1mo1MO
America abandoned most of its manufacturing decades ago. Now America realizes the severity of that mistake and is desperately flailing its arms in fear. Poor America is addicted to self-harm.
@ElandJoshSocialist1mo1MO
The usa is in no position to warn china about anything, since with trump and the gop, we are a lawless banana republic
Make it tax rather a EO tariff.
Import tax rate x import amount = trade deficit
And ban foreigners own American assets: land and company.
Everything would self-align then
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