Made to Import From China

Andrew Stephen has published a great article on the way that Americans have helped to create, what Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California calls the "Frankenstein monster", or as it is more widely known: the Peoples Republic of China.

Here are some staggering numbers you should know with respect to China's relationship with the US (Warning! Do not read before going to bed):

• Eighty-five per cent of all bikes sold in America are now made in China.
• Chinese imports to the US have grown 1,600 per cent in the past 15 years; and in the first quarter of 2005 alone, imports of Chinese cotton trousers and cotton-knit tops soared by 1,500 and 1,250 per cent, respectively.
• The US currently pays out six dollars to China for every one it gets back and, so far this year, its deficit with China is running 29 per cent above last year's $162bn.
• Wal-Mart alone - America's biggest company, with annual sales of $288bn - buys more than $18bn worth of Chinese-made goods each year.
• If it was a nation, Wal-Mart would be China's eighth-largest trading partner, ahead of Australia, Russia and Canada.

These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. I could give even more statistics that are worse then these, but then all of us would really get depressed.

All I can say is that we have really gotten ourselves into a mess, and that unless we act quickly will not be able to get out of.