Congress itching to pin blame for manufacturing loss

Pressure from manufacturing groups in the U.S. has Congress pushing paper to punish China for its unfair tactics that have cost the U.S. millions of jobs.

The Associated Press reported the U.S. trade deficit rose to the highest level in three months, with record oil prices, and a flood of toys and other imports from China swamping a solid gain in American exports.

U.S. exports of goods and services rose for an eighth consecutive month, climbing 0.9% to an all-time high of $141.7 billion.

This gain was offset by a 1% rise in imports to $199.5 billion, also a record, as a surge in global oil prices sent America’s oil bill soaring.

So far this year, the trade imbalance with China is running at an annual rate of $256 billion, putting it on track to surpass last year’s $233 billion deficit, which had been the highest deficit ever recorded with a single country.

Those record deficits have triggered a backlash in Congress, with dozens of bills introduced seeking to penalize China for what critics see as unfair trade practices contributing to the loss of 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs since 2000.

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