China's at It Again

Well, China Is at It Again

Well, China is at it again. After eliminating the Australian passenger rail and rolling stock industries since its admittance to the World Trade Organization in 2001, China has successfully shut down transportation manufacturing in the domestic market Down Under. 

And guess who it is that China has its sights on next? 

While China-owned and subsidized public transportation companies rolled through the island continent severely underbidding Australia’s domestic manufacturing, it wasn’t long before the Aussies could no longer possibly compete with China’s mercantilist attitude.

A statement before the House and Senate hashes out their differences in a close-ranging Pentagon Policy.  The two chambers will soon meet in a conference committee to work out their differences in the policy bill. The White House supports a Senate provision that would bar all federal transit.

The Senate version of the fiscal 2020 defense authorization bill would bar federal dollars from being used to purchase either passenger railcars or buses from such firms. The House version of the bill would limit the prohibition only to railcars.

“It is critical that such prohibitions cover procurement of all rolling stock transit vehicles to ensure the nation’s economic and national security and to prevent the use of Federal dollars to support foreign state-controlled enterprises,” said a statement from the Office of Management and Budget.

Both provisions aim to counter China’s increasing presence in the U.S. passenger railcar and electric bus market to prevent possible spying and surveillance of America. 

Jeff Bonior is a staff writer at the Alliance for American Manufacturing