We will bury you...

[rollhead]

Well, Khrushchev was right, but he had the wrong communist country that will bury us -- it's China and not the Soviet Union.

It is interesting how the same politicos an their progeny who brought us to the brink of nuclear holocaust with the Soviet Union, are the ones who are handing over the candy store to China.

It's as if the commie haters suddenly woke up one day and realized that communism isn't all bad if a communist country can provide us cheap labor and loans to run our wars.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in925840.shtml

[claude]

I too find the changes in relations with China to be quite interesting. Seems that you are only part of the axis of evil if you have no potential markets to tap. I also find it interesting that our Prime Minister has begun to talk openly about finding new markets in China for our oil and other raw materials. As I am sure everyone here knows, Canada is the US's single biggest source of imported oil.

[patricia]

Originally Posted by claude

As I am sure everyone here knows, Canada is the US's single biggest source of imported oil.

Thank you for reminding the board of that. There is so much ink about Middle-Eastern oil that I think that many in the U.S. don't realize that.
I live in the oil-rich province, Alberta, and until the seventies, it was a "have-not" province. I mentioned a book I was reading on the non-fiction book thread, "The Blue-Eyed Sheiks", by Peter Foster, which chronicles the discovery and subsequent fist-fight between the province, the Federal government and the rest of the oil-producing countries in the world and it is very interesting.
If China becomes the major importer of our oil and gas products, it seems to me that the whole balance of power in the world will shift.
Canada is not just the home of the Mounties, red and black checked flannel lumberjacks and fiery French Canadian vixons.
Our potable water is also being eyed greedily by our friends to the south.

[claude]

I haven't been following the story all that closely, but read an opinion piece in the National Post yesterday that made me think a bit. The thrust of the piece was that the PM really has no authority over where oil is exported since the oil is under the control of private interests, so this is all just bluster anyway. Makes sense, I also wondered how this story is playing in the oil patch?

[rollhead]

US trade deficit widens in August to $59 billion
Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:00 AM ET

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit widened 1.8 percent in August to its third-highest level on record as oil import prices hit a new high and imports of textiles and other goods from China also set a record, the government said on Thursday.

The August trade gap totaled $59.0 billion, just below a median $59.5 billion estimated by economists before the Commerce Department report. Record imports of $167.2 billion easily overwhelmed record exports of $108.2 billion.

The slightly lower-than-expected deficit pushed the dollar higher in early trading after the report.

"But what's more interesting is the U.S.-China deficit, especially with what's going on in Beijing just now," said Rebecca Patterson, currency strategist with JP Morgan in New York. "It's going to put a lot of pressure on the U.S. to get China to move (further on yuan flexibility), and to the extent that they don't, that's going to raise protectionist rhetoric in Congress, which I think is ultimately dollar-negative."

U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow in is China for meetings this weekend with finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 rich and emerging-market countries. Snow, who is expected to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao, has been vocal about the need for China to move to a more flexible exchange rate policy for the yuan.

Meanwhile, a second U.S. report showed the number of Americans filing new jobless claims dipped 2,000 last week, much less than Wall Street analysts had expected in the aftermath of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

First-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 389,000 in the week ended Oct. 8 from a slightly revised 391,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.

Economists had expected new claims to fall to 360,000 from the original Oct. 1 week reading of 390,000, a total swollen by hurricane-related claims.

The trade report showed oil import prices increased for the third consecutive month to a record $52.65 per barrel, lifting imports from OPEC countries to a record $11.9 billion. Overall crude oil imports were $17.2 billion in August, also a record.

Surging oil and natural gas pushed overall import prices up 2.3 percent in September, the largest advance in nearly 15 years and more than twice expectations, a third report showed.

Petroleum import prices jumped 7.3 percent, hitting a record level for the fourth straight month, while nonpetroleum import costs rose by a record 1.2 percent, the Labor Department said. Stripping out petroleum and natural gas, import prices rose a much smaller 0.4 percent.

The Commerce Department's trade report showed little initial impact from Hurricane Katrina, which forced the temporary closure of the Port of New Orleans after it hit on Aug. 29. The Commerce Department will publish preliminary September trade data on Oct. 21 for Gulf ports.

U.S. imports increased 1.8 percent in August, as U.S. economic growth continued to outpace that of other major developed countries. Key import categories such as industrial supplies and materials, autos and auto parts and capital goods all showed gains.

Imports from China were a record $22.4 billion, aided by a 3.1 percent jump in textile and clothing shipments. Imports of those products rose more than 53 percent in the first eight months of 2005 from the same period a year earlier. This follows the end of global textile quotas on Jan. 1.

U.S. trade officials are in Beijing trying to negotiate an agreement that would stem the flow of clothing imports. The United States ran record trade deficits with China, the European Union, OPEC and South and Central American countries in August.

Meanwhile, U.S. labor, farm and manufacturers groups have set a news conference on Thursday to push for tougher U.S. action to curb the growing trade gap with China.

U.S. exports jumped 1.7 percent in August, aided by a big increase in shipments of civilian aircraft. Other key categories, including autos and auto parts, also had gains.

(Additional reporting by Laura Macinnis)