THE BEST WAY OUT IS THROUGH 

NJ Congresswoman Doubles Down On Commitment To Holding Chinese Manufacturers Accountable for Unfair Trade Practices 

During the most recent House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (SCC), Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey (Congressional District 11) raised important points about unfair trade practices and how they give Chinese manufacturers an advantage over domestic producers, both locally and abroad.

According to the Intellectual Property Commission Report, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) theft of U.S. trade secrets and intellectual property costs the U.S. economy $225 billion in counterfeit goods, and pirated software. These damages may even value as high as $600 billion according to the IP Commission.¹ “This committee is so important as we work to promote and protect our values–and our economic interests–here at home and across the world. America’s ability to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable is central to that, and is the most complex and important aspect of our foreign and economic policy,” said Rep. Sherrill. Congresswoman Sherrill was asked to join the SCC earlier this year and she’ll continue to focus on investigating and developing policy that ensures domestic businesses’ economic, technological, and security competition with China becomes a priority.  

Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, went on to claim the issues of the CCP’s sale of products in the U.S. market at a vastly cheaper rate, the direct subsidies the government provides for energy, and the weak labor and environmental standards that are rarely enforced, along with the misrepresentation of the value of the Chinese yuan–harkening back to the intentional devaluation of the yuan by the People’s Bank of China in 2019 in reaction to tariffs pushed by the Trump Administration–as being another thorn in U.S. manufacturers’ side as it gives Chinese imports an artificial advantage over domestically-produced products. He goes on to say that as a result of these factors, “[U.S. Manufacturers have] shed an enormous amount of manufacturing capacity . . . 90,000 factories closed and even more job losses.” According to the National Association of Manufacturers, things are looking pretty grim for manufacturers, as the labor shortage in the manufacturing industry could cause as many as 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030, the cost of which may potentially total $1 trillion in the year 2030 alone.²

The Congresswoman spoke about the importance of finding bipartisan solutions to the economic and security threats posed by the CCP for the prosperity of the United States and more specifically New Jersey. Representative Sherrill is spear-heading the fight for domestic manufacturing in an effort to give U.S. manufacturers an advantage over their Chinese competitors. Her efforts on Capitol Hill have brought about the CHIPS and Science Act, which is going to strengthen supply chains, advance R&D, manufacturing, and foster growth of domestic semiconductor production. “Protecting human rights, ensuring a fair economic playing field, promoting freedom and democracy–generations of Americans have fought to protect these ideals and the more successful we are, the more America and her citizens prosper and thrive. This is now our generation’s challenge, and this committee, each and every member of it, stands ready to answer that call to action.”