WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers blamed the Bush administration on Wednesday for the skyrocketing U.S. trade deficit and called for the creation of a ``Congressional Trade Enforcer'' to make sure the United States prosecutes other countries that cheat on their trade obligations.þþA government report due out on Friday is expected to show the U.S. trade deficit set a record in 2005 at about $725 billion. That would be about double the level it was in 2001, the year that President George W. Bush took office.þþWall Street analysts also expect the deficit for just the month of December to total about $65 billion -- or more than twice the entire annual deficit in 1991.þþ``Enough's enough,'' Rep. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, told reporters. ``It's not sustainable. We can't continue to have these kind of trade imbalances and continue to have the standard of living that Americans expect and enjoy and the jobs that we need here in America.''þþCardin and other Democrats on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee said the Bush administration has contributed to the record trade gap by filing few cases against other countries at the World Trade Organization for alleged violations of trade rules.þþCongress needs to reclaim its constitutional authority over trade and create the office of Congressional Trade Enforcer to investigate trade violations and recommend specific trade cases for the U.S. Trade Representative's office to bring at the WTO, Cardin said. If USTR refuses, Congress would have the right under the proposed bill to force it to act, he said.þþU.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said in a statement he welcomed the Democrats' interest in opening new markets, but stopped short of endorsing the bill.þþ``This administration, and USTR in particular, will continue our vigorous enforcement of U.S. trade laws and our international rights. When our trading partners don't live up to their obligations, we're prepared to take legal action,'' Portman said.þþHouse Democrats also highlighted what they said were ''dangerously high levels'' of U.S. debt held by China, Japan and other countries to finance the huge trade gap.þþChina's massive dollar holdings are ``a national security problem'' that makes the U.S economy dependent upon Beijing's goodwill, said Rep. Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat. ``It's hard to really negotiate (on) a level playing field with China if we are so heavily indebted to them.''þþThe House Democrats said they were also preparing legislation to give the U.S. government better tools to block subsidized imports from China and other countries. Friday's report is expected to show the U.S. trade deficit just with China exceeded $200 billion last year.þþIn another sign of discontent over the large trade gap, a pair of Republican and Democratic senators said they would introduce a bill to repeal ``permanent normal trade relations'' for China. Congress approved that status -- which allows China to sell its goods in the United States at most favorable tariff rates -- in 2000 as part of Beijing's accession to the WTO.þþThe AFL-CIO labor federation and the U.S. Business and Industry Council, which represents small and mid-sized manufacturers, said the record trade gap was a national emergency that warranted slapping a temporary 10-percent surcharge on all imports to help bring it under control.þþ
Source: NY Times
