Fresh Start

This represents a graduation of sorts. I figured that it was about to move away from xanga and, well, keep a real blog. Not that I am totally opposed to my xanga but it is more of a forum for keeping up with the happenings of one's life and that isn't quite what i am shooting for.

I ran across this article on Xinhuanet. i was a little surprised as i hadn't heard anything about this anywhere else and i was more surprised it wasn't as acerbic as i would have expected out of xinhua on a topic like this. It seems that there are some unhappy folks in the US Congress. So unhappy that they are willing to throw down:

The chief sponsors of a US Senate bill threatening China with a 27.5 percent tariff on its exports to the United States said on Wednesday they would delay a promised vote on the bill until March 31 at the latest, the Reuters reported.
Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, were hopeful that President George W. Bush's visit to China later this week would prompt China to take positive steps to revalue its currency.

Now two things. One, 27.5 % is a very large number. Second, Graham and Schumer aren't exactly ideological brothers. This reflects a general sentiment, it seems, in Congress as a whole.

We hope and pray that the Chinese will move. We don't want to dictate anything to the Chinese. We don't want to tell them how quickly they should move or to what degree, but we do need to see some more movement on something that just about everyone agrees ought to happen," Schumer said. Schumer and Graham unexpectedly won a procedural vote 67-33 on their bill early this year.

This is an issue that needs pressure from congress. in my opinion, the Chinese have been given economic reign to develop their production - which outstrips the rest of the world, hands down - while not having to give up much - like allowing American and European companies and banks to have at the financial market in China. China has also been quick to blow the WTO whistle on other countries, especially when it comes to the textile trade, but is very defensive about their own protectionism. Congress is merely seeking some parity.