Pittsburgh Post-Gazette On Why The Public And Private Sectors Must Stand Up To China

As Connecting the Dots has reminded readers before, MSCI consistently has argued that global overcapacity and other unfair trading practices, particularly by China, have harmed the U.S. steel and aluminum markets. To address this circumvention, in 2017, MSCI advised federal officials to provide relief for producers up and down the supply chain and to consider the consequences of any new trade policy.

As the Section 232 metals tariffs are under review by the White House, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board recently explained why the Biden administration needs to continue to stand up to China.

First, there are the economic reasons, the newspaper’s editors explained. As the editorial says, “Over the past 20 years, China has absorbed millions of U.S. jobs. It has stolen billions of dollars’ worth of intellectual property from American companies and made itself critical to global supply chains, at times with the help of U.S. investors.”

Then, there are the humanitarian and geopolitical reasons. The board says, “The Chinese regime is an authoritarian, powerful, anti-democratic superpower that is rapidly gaining on the U.S. in terms of market size and political influence.” While the editorial board noted “President Joe Biden is working toward a sweeping set of policy initiatives to add additional pressure, a mixture of foreign sanctions and domestic incentives,” it advised business to “work to wean off their dependence on Chinese labor and goods and invest at home or with allies.”

Read the full editorial here.

PLEASE NOTE: MSCI is reporting the following data for its members’ information only. Click here to review all of MSCI’s advocacy on Section 232 tariffs.