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Trade with China
Vote UFCW—Trade with China Trade with China has emerged as a hot political issue in the upcoming 2008 election.
The frontrunners for the Democratic presidential nomination—Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton—have argued that China and other countries have harmed American interests by undervaluing their currencies and contributing to our country’s trade deficit. Senator John McCain is a strong supporter of free trade with China, and has voted against measures intended to help stem the flow of jobs lost due to trade with China and other countries. China’s cheap currency has kept its value low against the dollar, making Chinese goods less expensive in U.S. markets and American products more expensive overseas. Despite a spate of high-profile recalls of tainted products, the U.S. trade deficit with China hit $256 billion in 2007—the largest gap ever recorded with a single country. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is an example of the many American businesses that have taken advantage of China’s cheap currency by shipping American jobs to China and flooding U.S. markets with Chinese goods. The influx of Chinese goods at Wal-Mart stores has contributed to the loss of high-wage manufacturing jobs throughout the U.S. and the erosion of workers’ rights at Wal-Mart and in China. Wal-Mart’s preference for Chinese goods has also prompted several recalls of substandard products and endangered the health of American consumers. Wal-Mart is one of the biggest outlets for Chinese goods, and UFCW’s “Wake Up Wal-Mart” campaign has estimated that if Wal-Mart was a country, it would be China’s eighth largest trading partner. Corporate America’s indifference to China’s abuse of labor rights has contributed to more workers laboring under sweatshop conditions in China, and the resurgence of child labor. In the U.S., the loss of high-wage manufacturing jobs to China has forced many American workers to work for substandard wages and benefits—further endangering our country’s economic stability. The UFCW believes that the next president must take action to demand a fair trading system with China that puts America’s workers first. For more information about the presidential candidates and their stance on China and free trade issues, visit:
Senator Barack Obama
Senator Hillary Clinton
Senator John McCain
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