Mon Nov 5, 2012 10:21am EST
(Reuters) – The contentious U.S.-China trade relationship has been a major issue in the U.S. race for the White House, with President Barack Obama defending his record and Republican challenger Mitt Romney promising tougher tactics if elected.
Here is a comparison of Romney’s and Obama’s positions on China and other trade issues:
U.S.-CHINA
The U.S. trade deficit with China has swollen through Democratic and Republican administrations from $6 million in 1985 to a record $295 billion in 2011, reflecting both China’s rise as a global manufacturer and the large role consumers play in fueling the U.S. economy.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office has so far filed 15 cases against China at the World Trade Organization.
Eight were brought by Obama’s administration since he took office in January 2009, compared to seven during the administration of Republican George W. Bush.
Obama this year created a trade enforcement unit to bring together resources from across the executive branch to make sure China and other countries follow the rules.
Romney says Obama has not been aggressive enough in challenging unfair Chinese trade practices. He has vowed to use both the threat of U.S. sanctions and coordinated action with allies to force China to abide by global trade rules.
Romney says the United States does not have to accept “a huge and seemingly perpetual trade deficit with China” and must demand U.S. companies have the same freedom to sell in China that Chinese firms have to sell in the United States.
CHINA CURRENCY
One of the most highly charged issues in U.S.-China relations is China’s exchange rate.
Many U.S. lawmakers and manufacturers accuse Beijing of deliberately undervaluing its yuan currency against the dollar to give its companies an unfair price advantage in international markets.
Obama has disappointed many of his supporters by declining in seven successive semi-annual Treasury Department reports to formally label China a currency manipulator, even though he had criticized Bush for not doing so.
Instead, like Bush, Obama has used diplomatic pressure to encourage Beijing to raise the value of its currency against the dollar and can point to some success.
The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated in May that China’s currency was undervalued by 7.7 percent against the dollar, compared to its July 2008 estimate that the yuan was undervalued by 31.5 percent against the dollar.
