New international high-tech tariff agreement threatens jobs

Robert E. Scott of the Economic Policy Institute, posted a blog this week excoriating the U.S. Trade Representative for signing an agreement expanding the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA). It would eliminate tariffs among 54 countries – including China – In high-tech products.

Scott said in “Information Technology Agreement is Another Job Killer” that, “Growing U.S. trade deficits in computers and electronic products... acts as a subsidy to all of China’s exports of computers and other products, and as a tax on U.S. exports to China, and every country where U.S. firms compete with Chinese products.”

But worse, the effects are felt on working men and women. As Scott observes, “Job-destroying imports exceed job-supporting exports in this industry by more than 15 to 1. Further opening of the U.S. market to Chinese high tech products will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.”

Read Scott’s blog here.

Information Technology Agreement is Another Job Killer (EPI blog, Nov. 13, 2014)