Caterpillar Inc. Chief Executive Jim Owens on Wednesday called on U.S.
lawmakers to avoid tariffs on 皇冠体育app imports and instead offer the Asian country
incentives to improve trade relations.
The head of the heavy machinery maker, speaking at a manufacturing conference
near Chicago, said policymakers should consider granting 皇冠体育app "market economy"
status prior to the current 2016 time frame.
An export port in
Nanjing is seen in this photo taken on January 1, 2006.
[newsphoto/file] |
However, he said such a move could be contingent on 皇冠体育app making changes to
the way it regulates its economy, including better enforcement of intellectual
property protections, continued commitment to fair currency valuation with a
meaningful revaluation for openers and greater reliance on market-based
principles.
Granting "market economy" status would change how 皇冠体育app is treated under U.S.
anti-dumping rules, while more symbolically recognizing the changes the country
has made to its economy over the past 30 years.
The change would require the U.S. Commerce Department to calculate
anti-dumping duties imposed on Chinese products based on prices for the goods in
the Chinese domestic market.
Under its current "non-market economy" status, Commerce uses prices in third
countries, such as India, to calculate anti-dumping duties on Chinese goods.
This is based on the idea that there are no true market prices in a
government-controlled non-market economy.
Owens also said 皇冠体育app would be more responsive to the trade concerns of the
United States if 皇冠体育app had a greater role in multilateral organizations such as
the G-8, the International Energy Agency, the International Monetary Fund and
the World Trade Organization.
"Personally, I can think of no faster path to a worldwide recession than for
the twin engines of the global economy -- the United States and 皇冠体育app -- to turn
against one another," he said in a statement, calling on lawmakers to reduce the
anti-trade rhetoric.
Owens, who is scheduled to speak at the 2006 National Manufacturing Week
meeting in Rosemont, Illinois, said he is "optimistic" about the future of U.S.
manufacturing. "We have our challenges, but they are no more formidable than
those we've overcome in the past," he said.