China could face censure at the World Trade Organisation after the US and Europe lodged a joint complaint over its restrictions on raw materials exports
Europe and the United States announced last night co-ordinated action against China for busting World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules by restricting exports of essential raw materials, raising fears of a damaging east-west trade war in the depths of the global recession.
Ron Kirk, the US trade representative, accused Beijing of putting a "giant thumb on the scale" by restricting exports of commodities including silicon, coke and zinc, to give Chinese manufacturers an unfair advantage over their international rivals. "It's our job to make sure we remove that thumb from that scale," he said in Washington. "Today's action is proof of our commitment to level the playing field in this area."
World’s largest manufacturer
Published 6/23/09
Filed under: Miscellaneous, Politics
What country is the world’s largest manufacturer by a huge margin? If you have a kid, you would think it must be China — I don’t know the last time I saw I toy (or anything else, really) that wasn’t made there.
Wrong.
Accounting for more than 20% of the world’s total manufacturing output is the United States.
Japan is a distant second at just over 13%. Then China (12%), and Germany (8.2%). Then, well, everyone else. (Data come from the Dept. of Labor and the United Nations.)
Originally posted by SLAYER69
Well who hasn't seen this coming? Here we go...
Contrary to "Pop Culture " Beliefs the US and EU are still the big dogs. This can get ugly real fast. With the shrinking of the US manufacturing sector from the glory days of over 30% of world production now down to 21% and falling. It is becoming very apparent the US needs to start Manufacturing again.
While the world's wealth is still concentrated in three areas - U.S., Japan and Germany - the ranks are continuing to shift.
The U.S. saw a sharp 18.5% decline in the number of millionaires, but remains the largest home to high-net-worth individuals, with its 2.5 million HNWIs accounting for 28.7% of the global HNWI population.
China's HNWI population surpassed that of the U.K. to hit the rankings at number four in list of countries having the most wealthy individuals and Brazil jumped two spots from 2007 to make the top ten.
By Bloomberg News
July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Foreign direct investment in China fell for a ninth month from a year earlier as companies pared spending to weather the global financial crisis.
Investment slid 6.8 percent in June to $8.96 billion, the commerce ministry said at a briefing in Beijing today. The pace of the decline slowed from 17.8 percent in May and 17.9 percent in the first six months.
The detention of Rio Tinto Group staff this month for the alleged theft of state secrets could make some companies more wary of investing in China. Concerns may be offset by signs that the world’s third-biggest economy is rebounding on record lending and a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package.
The US trade gap plunged to its lowest level in 10 years in May as exports jumped up, while weak and shaky American economy dragged imports down.
The deficit gap was recorded at the lowest level since November 1999 at $26 billion in May, down 9.8 percent.
Exports soared to $123.3 billion, up 1.6 percent, the biggest increase since July 2008.
BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) - China drew $43 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first six months of the year, 17.9 percent less than in the same period in 2008, the Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday.
That compared with a 20.4 percent fall in the first five months.
Article Controls In June alone, China attracted $8.96 billion in FDI, down 6.8 percent from a year earlier.
The US saw its deficit narrow to $26bn (£16bn) in May, its lowest level in more than nine years, according to figures from the Commerce Department.
Imports continued to fall while exports increased, pushing the deficit to its lowest level since November 1999.
The deficit, the difference between what the US exports and imports, was 9.8% lower in May compared to April.
Actual FDI in the six months ended June 30 totaled US$43 billion, down 17.9% from a year earlier, Yao said. China's actual FDI in the first five months fell 20.41% from a year earlier.
China's outward direct investment in non-financial sectors in the first half fell 51.7% from a year earlier to $12.4 billion, Yao said. The fall was magnified by some large outward investments in the year-earlier period, he said.
Tentative signs of life in global trade are emerging, buoying growth forecasts in the U.S. and China, two of the world's most important economies.
U.S. exports grew in May, while imports fell, helping to narrow the trade deficit to its lowest level in nearly nine years. The report prompted economists to revise up their estimates of second-quarter gross domestic product. Some even suggested the economy might have grown slightly in the second quarter.
-----Thread Update-----
BRUSSELS — Fears of a global currency war land centre-stage Wednesday as Europe and China warm up for crunch IMF talks with a head-to-head summit focused on the yuan which the West says is "undervalued."
The issue already overshadowed a meeting of 46 European and Asian leaders in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, but now the European Union finally locks horns with Beijing over its role in shaping the value of China's currency.
