Trade uncertainty issues are giving China "real" structural problems, as the nation's supply chains are starting to "hollow out," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday.
"China is no longer really the cheapest place in the world to manufacture," Ross told Fox Business' "Mornings With Maria," adding the United States does not know what China wants in the upcoming trade talks, but will soon find out.
He agreed China will want the U.S. to remove tariffs that are in play, but the key is, "what are they prepared to give us?"
"Remember, what we need is to correct the big imbalances, not just the current trade deficit, but also the structural imbalances, the impediments to market access, disrespect for intellectual property, forced technology transfers," Ross said. "So it's more complicated than just buying a few more soybeans."
Meanwhile, China pulled back from a deal in April because it did not want enforcement on the theft of intellectual property, and Ross said some of the country's laws are "really bizarre relative to U.S. standards."
For example, private companies are required to do what the army wants and intelligence agency wants, and required not to disclose that they did so to anybody," Ross said. "That's an unimaginable law in the U.S."
Ross also commented on the report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which Thursday cut its economic forecast for the global economy. The forecast sees growth at 2.9% this year, down from 3.6% last year. The OECD predicts a bump back up to 3% in 2020.
The U.S. economy, Ross, said, is "excellent, (as) 6.3 million new jobs have been created since President Trump came in. Wages are up 3.2 [percent] year-over-year."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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