U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission
Field Investigation on
“China’s Impact on the U.S. Manufacturing Base”
January 30, 2004
I would like to join Commission Chairman Robinson in welcoming Senators Hollings and Graham and thanking them for their assistance in putting this important event together. Senator Hollings has been a true champion and advocate for industrial workers throughout his long and distinguished career and I am particularly honored he could be with us today.
The Commission is convening today in Columbia, South Carolina, holding the first field investigation of its tenure outside of Washington, DC. This is an important new procedure for the Commission and one that I hope will be repeated frequently in the future as it gives Commissioners the opportunity to see and hear first-hand how U.S.-China trade relations are impacting particular regions of the country.
Unfortunately, our first field investigation brings us to a region of the country whose economy is under siege. As we have come to learn, South Carolina has suffered the largest percentage job loss of any other state over the past year. Columbia, South Carolina is among the hardest hit metropolitan areas in the country with regard to job losses. It comes as no surprise that the bulk of these losses are in the manufacturing sector. In fact, South Carolina has lost some 65,000 manufacturing jobs over the past three years, a staggering 19 percent decline in this sector.
Among the hardest hit industry sectors have been textiles, apparel, and steel. At the same time, we have seen imports of Chinese-made goods in these areas escalate dramatically during a similar time frame. It is essential that policymakers in Washington closely assess the extent to which the devastating declines in the South Carolina manufacturing base are attributable in U.S. trade policy with China and take appropriate actions in response.
The Commission’s mandate from the Congress directs us to assess both the security and economic impacts of our economic and trade relationship with China. As part of this examination, we have been asked by the Congress to look specifically at how the shift of U.S. manufacturing capacity to China, as well as relocations of high-tech and R&D facilities, is impacting the U.S. economy. In Congress’ words, the Commission is to assess “the effect of these transfers on United States economic security, employment, and the standard of living of the American people.” Today’s event will greatly assist us in this important endeavor.
Today we will hear from a spectrum of individuals representing both industry and labor perspectives. We will begin with panels focusing on the textile, apparel, and steel industries. We will then have a panel looking at broader trends with regard to trade with China and the South Carolina manufacturing base.
Our event will conclude with perhaps the two most important sessions of the day. We will have a panel focusing on how trade-related economic dislocations are impacting communities in South Carolina, providing what I expect will be a vivid picture of how the pain of these dislocations are felt more broadly then just by the companies and workers directly affected. Following this panel we will move into an open microphone session, inviting interested members of the public to make their views known to the Commission. These concluding sessions will help bring home for Commissioners the very real human impact of the policy issues we are grappling with today.
Through these panels, the Commission will be able to gain important perspectives on how U.S.-China trade relations are impacting important segments of the South Carolina manufacturing base and how these trends may be indicative of broader trends for the U.S. manufacturing base and economy.
We are honored to be here in Columbia today, and look forward to the day ahead.