(VitalNews.org) – A witness testifying in front of Congress’s China Select Committee urged the body to suspend free trade with the communist country, calling to end the World Trade Organization (WTO) partnership that normalized trade between the two nations, according to Breitbart.
Scott Paul, representing the Alliance for American Manufacturing, called for either suspending or revoking that normalized status, arguing that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should not benefit from the same trade relationships the U.S. has with its allies. He added that because the U.S. ignores the threat the communist country poses, the U.S. has indirectly aided Beijing’s efforts in global hegemony while weakening the U.S.’s capabilities.
Paul noted how Washington, D.C., has said very little about American companies investing overseas but claimed that the federal government had subsidized this investment at the expense of the middle class. He called the policy a failure by the elites.
The China Trade Relations Act aims to suspend trade with China, was reportedly filed in late January by notable members of Congress, including Republican Senators Tom Cotton, J.D. Vance, Rick Scott, and Ted Budd. Free trade policies have killed American jobs in the last two decades, which began with George W. Bush entering the U.S. into the WTO.
Between 2001 and 2018, around four million jobs were lost to China. As a result, approximately three million manufacturing jobs have also been outsourced by multinational corporations that saw greater profit overseas. Coinciding with the loss of jobs came the closure of around 500,000 manufacturing plants across the states.
If passed, the legislation would end the normalized trade relations between the two countries and let trade depend upon presidents, who may or may not be vetoed by Congress.
The legislation has not yet been drafted for the Republican-controlled House.
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