NYTimes Ed Page: Bastion of Free Trade

Pinch me. The NYTimes Ed Page takes :a whack at Senator Schumer for his protectionism. Senator Graham is deservedly caught in the crossfire

The good news is that Senators Lindsey Graham and Charles Schumer have started to inch away from their misguided attempt to club China for its currency policies. At the end of a fact-finding trip last week, Mr. Schumer told reporters he was no longer sure he would push for a vote to impose tariffs on Chinese imports into the United States. "The jury is out," he said. But, he said, "we are more optimistic that this can be worked out than we were in the past."

Maybe the chance to talk face-to-face with Chinese on their home turf is what it took to make Mr. Graham and Mr. Schumer realize that just as trade is a two-way street, so too are sanctions. If lawmakers actually went ahead with the Schumer-Graham bill, which would impose 27.5 percent tariffs — a staggering amount — on Chinese goods, they would be accomplishing little to cut American unemployment, while hurting poor Americans who rely on inexpensive goods and poor Chinese whose livelihoods depend on making those products.

There's always hope! Hat-tip: Everyday Economist

Economics and Markets Posted by jk at March 28, 2006 9:46 AM