AMTAC blames China for Ohio's job losses

21 Feb '08

3 min read

With the news media focus on Ohio over the next two weeks, the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) has analyzed job gain/loss in Ohio by economic sector in report prepared by Dr. Charles W. McMillion, President and Chief Economist of MBG Information Services.

Since the end of 2000, total non-farm employment in Ohio has declined by 3.7 percent, a loss of 209,400 jobs. While Ohio employment grew slowly in the service sectors of its economy not subject to foreign competition, these job gains were more than offset by the state's substantial employment loss in sectors of the economy subject to international competition, such as the manufacturing and information services sectors, to countries like China.

Observing that the U.S. Commerce Department reported the United States imported $1.37 trillion in manufactured goods in 2007, American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) Executive Director Auggie Tantillo said, "Americans haven't stopped buying manufactured goods, but due to lax trade polices, a flood of imports from China and other countries have cost Ohio's manufacturing sector market share and are the chief reason why Ohio has lost 236,000 manufacturing jobs in recent years."

Also noting that imports from China accounted for more than 50 percent of the $499 billion U.S. trade deficit in manufactured goods in 2007, Tantillo continued , "A comprehensive policy response to China's predatory trade practices, such as itsblatant currency manipulation, rebates of value-added (VAT) taxes and other export subsidies, urgently is needed. Without this, sectors of the U.S. economy subject to international competition will continue to bleed jobs and wither from the lack of capital investment."

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