Chinese Invasion On The American Economy Continues

[Bronco_Beerslug]

China continues to suck the American dollar out of America. That with Japan and them holding the majority of our notes leaves us in a critical mess. Remember that every time you buy some Chinese junk.

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http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/03/10/business/10textile.583.jpg

By DAVID BARBOZA and ELIZABETH BECKER
Published: March 10, 2005

HANGHAI, March 9 - In the first month after the end of all quotas on textiles and apparel around the world, imports to the United States from China jumped about 75 percent, according to trade figures released by the Chinese government.

The statistics bear some of the first evidence that China's booming textile and apparel trade, unhampered by quotas, could be prepared to dominate the global textile trade and add to trade tensions around the world. The quotas came to an end on Dec. 31 as a result of an international agreement reached in 1993.

In January, the United States imported more than $1.2 billion in textiles and apparel from China, up from about $701 million a year ago. Imports of major apparel products from China jumped 546 percent. Last January, for example, China shipped 941,000 cotton knit shirts, which were limited by quotas; this January, it shipped 18.2 million, a 1,836 percent increase. Imports of cotton knit trousers were up 1,332 percent from a year ago.

These figures may be understated because China ships a large part of its goods through Hong Kong, and those shipments are not included.

Fears that China is going to flood the world market with cheap textile exports have already inflamed tensions between Washington and Beijing because of worries about American manufacturing plants being closed and thousands of jobs being lost.

Already, in January, the first month after global quotas were lifted, 12,200 jobs were lost in the United States apparel and textile industries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some analysts have predicted that China could capture as much as 70 percent of the American market in the next two years. Before the end of quotas, about 16 percent of apparel sold in the United States came from China.

Last year, the United States trade deficit with China set a record of $162 billion, making it the largest trade imbalance ever recorded by the United States with a single country. To be sure, some textile importers say this phenomenon may be a one-time surge. Companies, for instance, may have put off shipping goods at the end of last year to avoid the quotas.

"Nobody knows if it's going to last," said Andrew Grossman, who runs GAV, a company that designs and manufactures clothes for Calvin Klein and Emanuel Ungaro. "So you're not seeing it passed on to the consumer."

Because of uncertainty over currency fluctuations and the process of lifting quotas, apparel producers like GAV have not reduced their prices to retailers. Moreover, poor countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia and Sri Lanka are pressing Washington to pass legislation giving them lower tariffs to help support a crucial source of their livelihood. Some trade experts say that China has achieved its status over the years by providing questionable bank loans and subsidies to its industry.

Still, it is clear that efforts to move toward more open trade have freed China and other countries of many textile and apparel quotas and restrictions. And they have set the stage for China to become a global textile and apparel behemoth, lowering clothing prices for consumers around the world but upsetting and rewriting current trade balances.
(CONTINUED)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/business/worldbusiness/10textile.html?ex=1268197200&en=6fd310eb2b8e80ee&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

The statistics bear some of the first evidence that China's booming textile and apparel trade, unhampered by quotas, could be prepared to dominate the global textile trade and add to trade tensions around the world.

Now we know what happened to all those textile manufacturing jobs certain southern states (the same red states, BTW, which were so lavish in their support for the monkey) lost during the frat boy's first term, don't we?

These people ultimately voted to double and triple the profits of Bush's corporate cronies - at their own expense.

I hate to admit it, but the Chinese have done a masterful job. While America’s media is hypnotizing us with frivolous entertainment like 'American Idol' or 'The Amazing Race,' they are totally ignoring the perilous economic time bomb the Chinese have placed against us. The Government of China is holding U.S. currency and Treasury notes in a $1.9 trillion Treasury bond trap. When they pull the trigger on their "primary weapon," the dollar will crash and gold will break $600 in a heart beat and just keep going.

[W*GS]

You guys need to back up the clock about 20 years and replace "China" with "Japan". You'll get the same hysterical rantings.

I just wonder why LABF and 'slug are so despondent and pessimistic about the US economy and American workers and productivity.

Just fer grins, how about one or the other of you figure out how much trade the US does with China as a fraction of the US GDP.

[Rascal]

well I don't know and I would be curious to find out.

[Spider]

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm
Current Amount

03/08/2005 $7,746,290,500,431.39


Current
Month

03/07/2005 $7,730,125,106,692.41
03/04/2005 $7,727,828,210,964.80
03/03/2005 $7,727,838,587,832.87
03/02/2005 $7,708,311,813,268.56
03/01/2005 $7,701,629,503,518.55


Prior
Months

02/28/2005 $7,713,137,673,664.71
01/31/2005 $7,627,742,597,775.41
12/31/2004 $7,596,165,867,424.14
11/30/2004 $7,525,209,508,979.45
10/29/2004 $7,429,677,448,545.04


Prior Fiscal
Years

09/30/2004 $7,379,052,696,330.32
09/30/2003 $6,783,231,062,743.62
09/30/2002 $6,228,235,965,597.16
09/28/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06
09/29/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86
09/30/1999 $5,656,270,901,615.43
09/30/1998 $5,526,193,008,897.62
09/30/1997 $5,413,146,011,397.34
09/30/1996 $5,224,810,939,135.73
09/29/1995 $4,973,982,900,709.39
09/30/1994 $4,692,749,910,013.32
09/30/1993 $4,411,488,883,139.38
09/30/1992 $4,064,620,655,521.66
09/30/1991 $3,665,303,351,697.03
09/28/1990 $3,233,313,451,777.25
09/29/1989 $2,857,430,960,187.32
09/30/1988 $2,602,337,712,041.16
09/30/1987 $2,350,276,890,953.00

[Spider]

http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_03/petch111403.html
[/img]http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_03/images/petch111403a.gif[/img]
Rather lenghly piece , but it tells the story

[Rascal]

oh quit your worrying. As my boss would say, "we print our own money".

[Rascal]

You are going to love this quote I pulled from your article. I mentioned this several weeks ago and was meet with a...rather lukewarm response.

Nixon in 1971 took the US off the Bretton-Woods arrangement due to the feared depletion of the US gold reserves. If the Arabs demanded gold for oil Fort Knox would be empty. The history books will probably view George W.'s attack on Iraq as one of the most important strategic wars in the history of the US. With the US having a foothold in Iraq, they essentially control the oil fields, guaranteeing themselves a stable oil supply. Oil could be exchanged for American dollars rather than a direct exchange of gold. This would give the USA an edge over China as Iraq has 112 billion barrels of oil - the worlds second largest proven reserves (www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iraq.html).

[Spider]

what gets me is People dont understand the difference in Economic expansion , and out sourcing , I am all for Toyota , Nissan , BMW etc , opening shops here in America, and American companies opening up shop any where they please , What I dont like is a company closing up shop here , moving over seas, then selling me a Product .....
and Passing the cost of Moving onto the American tax payer ..... Thats like saying here take a couple of hudred dollars to fire my ass ........ I hear McDonlads has a kick ass Production line position opening up ........

[Spider]

You are going to love this quote I pulled from your article. I mentioned this several weeks ago and was meet with a...rather lukewarm response.

Nixon in 1971 took the US off the Bretton-Woods arrangement due to the feared depletion of the US gold reserves. If the Arabs demanded gold for oil Fort Knox would be empty. The history books will probably view George W.'s attack on Iraq as one of the most important strategic wars in the history of the US. With the US having a foothold in Iraq, they essentially control the oil fields, guaranteeing themselves a stable oil supply. Oil could be exchanged for American dollars rather than a direct exchange of gold. This would give the USA an edge over China as Iraq has 112 billion barrels of oil - the worlds second largest proven reserves (www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iraq.html).
as opposed to making up the WMD , Saddam is the boogie man stories ... I have always understood the strategic benifits , but as long as you admit the Spreading Democracy , Saddam is the most Dangerous man / Mass Graves line was crap ........ I stil dont think invading Iraq was the right move though , I still think getting off Oil is a better choice ......

[Rascal]

We won't be able to get off oil for about 15-20 years at the earliest.

[alkemical]

An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense... that gold and economic freedom are inseparable.
Alan Greenspan

In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value.
Alan Greenspan

Protectionism will do little to create jobs and if foreigners retaliate, we will surely lose jobs.
Alan Greenspan

[alkemical]

oh quit your worrying. As my boss would say, "we print our own money".


"we" as in americans and the american gov't - do not print our own money. A private owned, central bank prints the money, then charges interest as a loan on the printed money. the Fed then uses inflation as a means to reduce the buying power of the current currency -

[alkemical]

We won't be able to get off oil for about 15-20 years at the earliest.


Sure we could, we got to space pretty fast.

[Spider]

We won't be able to get off oil for about 15-20 years at the earliest.
well actually , we could be off it , or subsadizing our Oil consuption much sooner ................
By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER
Star-Tribune energy reporter Friday, March 04, 2005



For more information about Luca Technologies and methogenesis research, visit Luca's Web site, www.lucatechnologies.com.

Wyoming's lucrative coal-bed methane industry might not have a shelf life at all. In fact, the "production" industry could very well transform into a "farming" industry.

Some scientists believe the methane being produced from coal in the Powder River Basin isn't necessarily the ancient product of millions of years of microbial activity. The "methogenesis" process likely works much faster, according to Luca Technologies, a privately held company based in Denver.

Company officials believe that if stimulated with the proper nutrients, under the right conditions, the microbes could more than triple the volume of gas thought to be recoverable by conventional methods. That's a volume that could satisfy the nation's gas demand for nearly four years, according to Luca.

It could also transform a finite resource into a virtually renewable -- or at least sustainable -- energy resource and a stable source of revenue for Wyoming's economy.

"It's a revolutionary change to where you can actually farm gas," said Michael P. Batzer, vice president of Denver-based Luca Technologies.

Batzer and other Luca Technologies members discussed their research with several state regulators and county commissioners Thursday at the Casper Chamber of Commerce.

Luca plans to conduct five field tests across the United States, and it is considering a pilot project in the Powder River Basin. Though Luca says it's too early to make any guarantees or even guesses about implementing the technology in Wyoming, local county leaders couldn't help but feel giddy about the possibility.

Sheridan County Commissioner Ky Dixon assured Luca officials that Wyoming regulators are amiable toward efforts to improve the industry, especially efforts that could prolong gas production with minimal impacts. Dixon and other commissioners wanted to know what they could do to help bring the technology to the Cowboy State.

"What's next?" Dixon asked.

More laboratory and field work, and possibly partnering with a coal-bed methane company already in the Powder River Basin, Batzer said. He explained that Luca won't be asking for any government grants or partnerships. That would mean sharing proprietary information with the government and the public.

"We believe in capitalism," Batzer said. "And we're very well funded. That isn't a problem."

But there are some things Wyoming leaders might consider as Luca perfects its process and considers production sites. "Methane farming" would make use of the existing coal-bed methane infrastructure being constructed today. So the thousands of wells and miles of electrical lines and gas-gathering pipelines might not be "temporary" facilities.

And although the process would not require the discharge of coal-bed methane water onto the surface, it would deal with aquifers that are used for human and livestock consumption.

Regulators and coal-bed methane operators might also reconsider some current procedures. B.J. Kristiansen of the Coalbed Methane Coalition said operators are required to use treated water for "flushing" cuttings out of newly drilled wells. That might be counter-productive to the work of the indigenous microbes.

However, Luca scientists have not yet tested that theory.

"We'd like to move quickly, too. But we don't want to miss anything, because it's very complicated," Batzer said.

[alkemical]

http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/03/09/business/textile.html
By Elizabeth Becker and David Barboza The New York Times
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Exports to U.S. heighten industry fears
WASHINGTON China has exceeded all predictions on textile exports to the United States since the lifting of global quotas in January, according to industry figures released Wednesday, confirming fears of American textile manufacturers.
In January, China shipped more apparel in certain categories, like cotton trousers, than it had in the previous year and a half, according to a U.S. textile makers group. But an importers' group suggested this ballooning might be partly a one-time phenomenon. Predictions that China would flood the world market with cheap textiles had already inflamed trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, in part because of concern that the Chinese unfairly subsidize their industry and sell their goods at below-production costs, undermining U.S. producers. In the first month of this year, 12,200 jobs were lost in the U.S. apparel and textile industries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.



http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050309/tc_nm/tech_ibm_lenovo_dc_8
Chinese Computer Firm-IBM Get Security OK
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - China's Lenovo Group Ltd. (0992.HK) won clearance from a U.S. national security oversight committee to acquire IBM's (NYSE:IBM - news) personal computer business, the companies said on Wednesday, overcoming resistance from some U.S. lawmakers.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

You guys need to back up the clock about 20 years...

Turning back the clock 20 years...

That's the Bush/neocon movement in a nutshell, isn't it?

I just wonder why LABF and 'slug are so despondent and pessimistic about the US economy and American workers and productivity.

Here are a few clues to help you get started:

1: Net Job Destruction

2: Only Administration in 70 Years with Decline in Private Sector Jobs

3: 1.0 Million Private Sector Jobs Lost

4: Unemployment Rate Up by 1.2 Percentage Points

5: 2.0 Million More Unemployed Workers

6: Long-Term Unemployment More Than Doubled

7: Promise versus Reality: Job Creation in Second Half of 2003 was 1.8 Million below Forecast

8: Typical Worker's Earnings Barely Keeping up with Inflation

9: An Administration with Well Below Average Economic Growth

10: Only the Second Administration in 50 Years with Negative Investment

11: Business Investment Has Been Stagnant

12: Consumer Confidence Down 12 Percent

13: One of Just Two Administrations since Hoover with a Decline in the Stock Market

14: Large Projected Surpluses Turned Into Large Projected Deficits

15: $4.3 Trillion more Debt in 2008

16: Bush Tax Cuts Are Nearly 90 Times Larger for Millionaires Than for Middle Income Households

17: Administration with the Greatest Average Annual Decline in Household Income

18: Median Household Income Down $1,535

19: Administration with Second Largest Average Annual Rise in the Poverty Rate

20: 4.3 Million More Americans in Poverty

21: 5.2 Million More Americans Without Health Insurance

Welcome to the reality-based community, W*GS (though I know you can't stay long.)

[W*GS]

Turning back the clock 20 years...That's the Bush/neocon movement in a nutshell, isn't it?

As usual, you missed the point. Paranoia about China is misplaced, just as the paranoia about Japan was misplaced back in the 80s. There is nothing China is doing we can't handle - and in many ways, China is in far worse shape than the US. You're familiar with the 4:2:1 problem they face, aren't you?

Here are a few clues to help you get started:

So we should just give up and become a submissive province to China since the Taiwanese apparently have more cajones than we do?

LABF, your pessimism does not become you.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

You guys need to back up the clock about 20 years and replace "China" with "Japan". You'll get the same hysterical rantings.

I just wonder why LABF and 'slug are so despondent and pessimistic about the US economy and American workers and productivity.

Just fer grins, how about one or the other of you figure out how much trade the US does with China as a fraction of the US GDP.
Already been through this with you but you don't want to believe that this isn't the same thing as 30 years ago with Japan. I was a part of it then and this is completely different. There is no end to what China can accomplish with it's slave labor and unlimited labor pool. If we continue to drain our country of cash for the return of cheap, poorly manufactured junk China will be able to cripple us economically anytime they feel inclined to.

[W*GS]

There is no end to what China can accomplish with it's slave labor and unlimited labor pool.

As China gets richer, it will change. And it's labor pool is not "unlimited".

It's easiest to buy into the point of view of the protectionists and the China-bashers, but the reality is much more complex.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Already been through this with you but you don't want to believe that this isn't the same thing as 30 years ago with Japan. I was a part of it then and this is completely different.

There are none so blind as those who will not see, eh BB?

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Where are Bush and his corporate cronies planning to live once they finish asset-stripping the United States?

http://sideshow.me.uk/smar05.htm#111445

When I talk about how they are asset-stripping us, I'm not just talking about things like the bankruptcy bill and other more obvious policies that isolate the United States (such as alienating the UN and forcing Europe to take a containment position toward America), I'm also looking at the way they've been moving both military and industrial intelligence to other nations, chiefly China. Out-sourcing means more than just giving your job to some guy in China; it means that while the Chinese are learning to do your job, Americans are not.

This doesn't appear to be a short-term project. As you may recall, two Bush administrations have been engaged in handing over our top-secret technology to the Chinese. When some of this started to come out during the Clinton administration, the right-wingers on the Internet made sure to blame this on Clinton and obscure the fact that it had happened in the '80s rather than during the then-current administration. And some people still have their suspicions about the handling of the spy-plane incident early in the first GWB term that gave the Chinese access to our military technology.

Of course, I've been worried for a long time about the very idea that the United States can survive as a "service economy". The minute I heard this theory floating around I thought something was up, because surely no one who understands how money works, and how economies have always worked, could believe it would be a good idea to convert your national economy to one which doesn't actually produce anything. And yet, all over the so-called liberal media, I could see this idea actually being embraced! What the hell was going on?

Well, I guess it's just the plan. They aren't even trying to hide it anymore, they're just trying to put in the finishing touches as fast as they can before we have a chance to stop them from running off with our family jewels.

And now I read Turning Chinese by Paul Craig Roberts:

The US has apparently lost the ability to create high productivity, high value-added jobs in tradable goods and services. The ladders of upward mobility are being dismantled by offshore production for home markets and outsourcing of knowledge jobs.

The BLS reports that the number of employed US technical workers has fallen by 221,000 in six major computer and engineering job classifications during 2000-2004. The largest drops were suffered by computer programmers, followed by electrical and electronics engineers, computer scientists and systems analysts.

So much for the new economy that economists promised would take the place of the lost manufacturing economy.

America's remaining job market is domestic nontradable services. While India and China develop first world job markets, the US labor market takes on the characteristics of a third world work force. Only jobs that cannot be outsourced are growing.

America is turning into one of those "exotic" places you go to for your vacation. That's what "service economy" means. Just one great big giant tourist trap, full of desperate people hustling for tips.

How bad will things have to get before economists realize that outsourced jobs are not being replaced? Indeed, many American companies are ceasing to have any presence in the US except for a sales force.

Cisco's CEO, John Chambers, declared recently: "What we're trying to do is outline an entire strategy of becoming a Chinese company."

Tom Street at Bad Attitudes says:

Chambers is just being honest about what all the major corporations are doing. It's not just the brawn. It's the brains and the heart that are being outsourced. Doesn't this just make the debate about social security akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic? Can't say I wish I were in my 20s about now.

Paul Craig Roberts wondered when economists would notice this was going on, but can they really not know? Or aren't they all just in on the joke?

The other question I really, really wish would be asked in every pundit interview is this:

What have they promised you for helping them destroy our country?