Washington: Leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump today vowed to declare China a “currency manipulator” if elected and alleged that Beijing’s “great Wall of protectionism” uses unlawful tariff to keep the US companies out and to tilt the playing field in its favor.
“The worst of China’s sins is not its theft of intellectual property. It is the wanton manipulation of China’s currency, robbing Americans of billions of dollars of capital and millions of jobs,” Trump wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
Trump said on the first day of his administration, the US Treasury Department will “designate” China a currency manipulator.
“This designation will trigger a series of actions that will start the process of imposing countervailing duties on cheap Chinese imports, defending American manufacturing and preserving American jobs,” he said.
“Add to these actions direct and focused protection of intellectual property and we will be back on the path to being the world standard for economic liberty and growth. But these actions alone won’t ensure Americans’ long-term security and prosperity,” he asserted.
Trump also vowed to protect American ingenuity and investment by forcing China to uphold intellectual property laws and stop their unfair and unlawful practice of forcing US companies to share proprietary technology with Chinese competitors as a condition of entry to China’s market.
The Trump plan aims to “reclaim millions of American jobs and reviving American manufacturing” by putting an end to China’s illegal export subsidies and lax labor and environmental standards.
No more sweatshops or pollution havens stealing jobs from American workers, he said.
The New York-based real estate magnet said he would strengthen America’s negotiating position by lowering corporate tax rate to keep American companies and jobs here at home, attacking US debt and deficit, so China cannot use financial blackmail against the US.
He said he would bolster the US military presence in the East and South China Seas to discourage Chinese adventurism.
“These actions will discourage Chinese adventurism that imperils American interests in Asia and shows our strength as we begin renegotiating our trading relationship with China.
“A strong military presence will be a clear signal to China and other nations in Asia and around the world that America is back in the global leadership business,” Trump said.