OPENING STATEMENT BY COMMISSIONER JUNE TEUFEL DREYER

U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission

Field Hearing on "The Impact of U.S.-China Trade and Investment on
Key Manufacturing Sectors"

September 23, 2004
Akron, Ohio

I would like to join my hearing co-chair, Commissioner Wessel, in thanking the Mayor's office and the Akron community for facilitating our visit here today, an area of the country that is on the front lines of US-China trade. This afternoon we will begin with our panel examining how the steel, glassware, and ceramics industries have been affected by trade and investment with China and the likely trends for the future. The subsequent panel will address the machine tool industry.

These industries are vital elements of Ohio's economy. By way of example, Ohio employs 16% of the nation's iron and steel workforce, which generates one-sixth of America's raw steel. Ohio's machinery manufacturing accounts for 2.4% of its economic activity, compared to 1% nationally. The industry is characterized by above average wages and significant R&D spending.

As during our morning session, we hope to garner information regarding the continued vitality of these industries, the pressures they are under from trade with and investment in China, and appropriate U.S. government policy responses to meet the competitive challenges posed by China. These are key questions for exploration within the Commission's broader examination of the economic and security dimensions of the U.S.-China economic relationship. We look forward to a productive discussion with the businesses and labor representatives from these manufacturing sectors.

Our final panel will discuss the effects of a declining manufacturing base on the local communities, and we will close with an open microphone session. With these portions of our hearing, we hope to ground ourselves in the human element of the economic forces that we are discussing. They will provide an opportunity for us to assess, at the most material level, which U.S. policies have proved helpful and what economic and human needs remain unfilled.

Again, we are very pleased to be in Akron today and look forward to this afternoon's testimony.