U.S. Trade Unions against China

China's frequent violations of workers' rights give that nation an unfair trade advantage that has cost more than 727,000 U.S. jobs, according to a petition filed with the U.S. Trade Representative yesterday by the Afl-Cio and the Industrial Union Council, made up of 14 industrial unions.

The petition calls on the Bush administration to take immediate action to impose trade remedies against China and negotiate a binding agreement to reduce the trade remedies if China enforces workers' rights.

The 103-page petition extensively documents that Chinese workers' wages are between 47 percent and 86 percent lower than they should be, which in turn reduces the price of Chinese manufactured goods by 11 percent to 44 percent. If China did not violate workers' rights, the price of Chinese manufactured goods would increase by 12 percent to 77 percent, according to the petition.

The Afl-Cio is seeking immediate action by the Bush administration to impose trade remedies against China, such as sanctions or tariffs and to negotiate an agreement that connects China's progress in enforcing workers' rights with trade sanction relief.