Saturday, October 16, 2010

On Chinese 'Subsidies'

The Obama administration is launching a broad investigation into whether the Chinese government improperly supports its alternative energy companies, one of the sharpest challenges yet to Beijing's alleged efforts to seize world leadership in particular industries.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced on Friday he had accepted a petition from the United Steelworkers union contending that the subsidies and other benefits China grants to its clean-energy companies violate World Trade Organization rules.


Why wouldn't any right-minded country subsidize the development of new technology ? For that matter, the U.S. government subsidies all sorts of research through its military, much of which gets put to civilian use.

Basically this sounds like a case of a bully who gets punched in the nose and runs off to the teacher crying. The Washington Consensus is losing, so of course the other side is cheating. Not persuasive.

1'U.S. to investigate Chinese subsidies to alternative energy companies' - Washington Post

No comments: