Climate-Change Bill Gives Advantage to Chinese Manufacturers, Putting U.S. Competitors and Jobs at Risk, Says Government Report

(CNSNews.com) - The American Clean Energy and Security Act--the so-called “cap-and-trade” climate-change bill--that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month would give manufacturers in certain industries in the Communist People's Republic of China an advantage over their U.S. competitors and put U.S. jobs at risk, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

“I think what we’re trying to do is point out to the Congress and others that are interested that there could be some industries where China’s competitive advantage might be affected or could be further enhanced by (climate-change) legislation, if the features of the legislation don’t take that into account,” Loren Yager, GAO director of international affairs, told CNSNews.com.

Without an international agreement placing caps on emissions by Chinese factories, China would stand to gain, while the international competitiveness of four U.S. industries that account for nearly one-quarter--or approximately $1.2 trillion--of total U.S. manufacturing output would suffer.