Et Tu Deval?

[unhappycamper]

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/dave-johnson/59179/et-tu-massachusetts-china-deal-undercuts-u-s-jobs

Et Tu, Massachusetts? China Deal Undercuts U.S. Job
Jobs
by Dave Johnson | October 24, 2014 - 7:52am

Massachusetts is awarding a contract to build rail cars to CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles, a Chinese state-owned company, a subordinate of China CNR Corporation Ltd. The company will do final assembly of the cars in Massachusetts.

~snip~

The company was able to bid low enough to get this contract because of Chinese government subsidies such as grants, tax breaks, loans, and debt forgiveness.

This deal is a problem for two reasons. First, US companies cannot compete on a level playing field against companies that are subsidized by governments. China has a national focus on gaining key, strategic industries, and applies national resources as necessary to accomplish this. They understand the long-term value of being able to make a living as a country. Unfortunately they have been overdoing it, and running a very large trade surplus, which sets the rest of the world’s economy out of balance.

Second, this deal uses taxpayer dollars to undercut the long-term competitiveness of American companies that do the same work. They don’t get this contract, and the Chinese company gains a foothold in the US — with a factory and supply chain and in-country expertise — and as is able to compete for even more future business as a result. Again, this all done with US and Massachusetts taxpayer dollars.