From the New York Times:
The United States trade deficit narrowed ever so slightly in June, but the mild improvement did not deter renewed calls in Washington for a substantial currency revaluation by China to make American exports more competitive. Congress is again threatening to take protectionist measures unless China does more than allow the gradual appreciation of the currency that it began last year.
The chart at right shows the amazing rise of Chinese exports to the rest of the world compared with the total amount of United States exports to its trading partners. As recently as 1993, the first year of Bill Clinton’s presidency, they amounted to just a fifth of the United States total, but they had climbed to nearly a third of the total by 2000, the last year of Mr. Clinton’s administration.[Full Text]
