Saturday, April 24, 2010

China Slows Down the Global Supply Chain

(Industry Week – David Blanchard)

China’s new import regulations could have an adverse effect on U.S. manufacturers

There’s a school of thought in some manufacturing circles that suggests that the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs over the past decade can be blamed largely, if not entirely, on China’s emergence as the world’s low-cost producer while flouting the global trade rules that other countries follow. China, for instance, “has consistently manipulated its currency to steal productive capacity from the United States,” observes Kevin Kearns, president of the U.S. Business and Industry Council. This currency manipulation has allowed China to “devastate America’s invaluable productive industries, addict the country to debt-fueled, bubble-created ‘growth’ and destabilize the global economy.” […]

In 2009, the Chinese government launched a series of anti-dumping investigations against the United States involving products such as automobiles, Adipic acid and chicken products, Slipek notes. “During the anti-dumping investigation process, a firm will face challenges importing into China, potentially resulting in detained shipments or demands for more information, thereby adding time and cost to supply chain cycles.” Read more here.