NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The final week of January began with a bloodbath for the job market, as over 71,400 more cuts were announced on Monday alone.

More than 200,000 job cuts have been announced so far this year, according to company reports. Nearly 2.6 million jobs were lost over 2008, the highest yearly job-loss total since 1945.

Originally posted by Leo Strauss
reply to post by KonigKaos

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We must restore tariffs and withdraw from all of these unfair trade agreements!
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that 10 cents an hour labor vs a living wage for workers in the US is an unfair trade advantage! NO TO NAFTA, NO TO GATT, NO TO WTO!! American jobs for Americans and let the foreigner pay tariffs if they want to do business with the US.


[edit on 26-1-2009 by Leo Strauss]

Today, the U.S is still very much in two wars and they are firing that many people.

Originally posted by badgerprints

Originally posted by Leo Strauss
reply to post by KonigKaos

---

We must restore tariffs and withdraw from all of these unfair trade agreements!
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that 10 cents an hour labor vs a living wage for workers in the US is an unfair trade advantage! NO TO NAFTA, NO TO GATT, NO TO WTO!! American jobs for Americans and let the foreigner pay tariffs if they want to do business with the US.


[edit on 26-1-2009 by Leo Strauss]

This reminds me of history.
Ever hear of the Hawley - Smoot Tarriff?

A promise to abide by World Trade Organization (WTO) rules was one of the prerequisites that enabled China to join the WTO in 2001.

Seven years later, the WTO has ruled that China continues to break trade rules by taxing imported auto parts at the same rate as foreign-made cars.

Unfortunately, international trade consultants expect slow progress in resolving this dispute. The WTO often takes years before authorizing retaliatory sanctions to correct unfair trade tariffs in the global trade arena.
Chinese Car Demand

Representing millions of potential car sales, China holds a very strong hand in world automotive industry with a vast cohort of wealthy Chinese buyers.

According to Brian Klapper from the Associated Press, Chinese demand for cars soared 22% to 8.8 million in 2007. Trailing only the United States and Japan, China’s car market is the third largest in the world.

While Chinese consumers buy foreign-made automobiles, at least 40% of car parts in fully assembled vehicles have to be sourced from within China. Otherwise, international car exporters have to pay a significant Chinese import duty.

Car makers from Canada, the U.S. and the EU complain that China imposes tariffs on auto parts at the same rate as on foreign-made finished cars, thus violating WTO trade rules that China agreed to when the People’s Republic joined the WTO. At the same time, unfettered Chinese auto exports are booming.