Trade with China by Congressional District
Take a look at the following table. The lawmakers listed are those who sit on the House Ways & Means Committee, the panel in charge of trade in the lower chamber. Thanks to a treasure trove of data from the U.S.-China Business Council, below are growth rates in U.S. exports to China by congressional district during 2000-2006. The last column shows the growth rate of exports to the rest of the world during the same time period.
These are awesome numbers! Why on Earth would we want to enact protectionist policies against China and put at risk our ever-increasing ability to send them more of our stuff? Bottom line: For the last seven years, American businesses in these 41 districts have experienced an average growth rate of 321% in their sales to China. But despite this fabulous surge, some of the members listed below want to enact policies that will spark a trade war and defuse this growth, the idea of which is pure lunacy.
I know what you're thinking. What about New York and South Carolina - the two states represented by the leading anti-China protectionists in the Senate, Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham? New York's exports to China between 2000 and 2006 grew 180% compared to 34% to the rest of the world. South Carolina was 453% and 56%, respectively. Not too shabby.
| Lawmaker | China Exports | World Exports |
|---|---|---|
| John Tanner (D-TN-08) | 1533% | 98% |
| Shelley Berkley (D-NV-01) | 1084% | 259% |
| Jon Porter (R-NV-03) | 1084% | 259% |
| Ron Lewis (R-KY-02) | 514% | 83% |
| Kenny Hulshof (R-MO-09) | 485% | 89% |
| John Larson (D-CT-01) | 412% | 50% |
| Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03) | 395% | 33% |
| Sander Levin (D-MI-12) | 389% | 14% |
| Sam Johnson (R-TX-03) | 386% | 45% |
| Dave Camp (R-MI-04) | 378% | 15% |
| Philip English (R-PA-03) | 378% | 39% |
| Paul Ryan (R-WI-01) | 362% | 61% |
| Ron Kind (D-WI-03) | 354% | 56% |
| Jim Ramstad (R-MN-03) | 344% | 60% |
| Allyson Schwartz (D-PA-13) | 336% | 39% |
| Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-25) | 330% | 45% |
| Kevin Brady (R-TX-08) | 327% | 45% |
| Eric Cantor (R-VA-07) | 318% | 18% |
| Stephanie Jones (D-OH-11) | 298% | 44% |
| Earl Pomeroy (D-ND-AL) | 263% | 141% |
| Artur Davis (D-AL-07) | 215% | 86% |
| Jim McDermott (D-WA-07) | 214% | 62% |
| Devin Nunes (R-CA-21) | 204% | 16% |
| Wally Herger (R-CA-02) | 199% | 15% |
| Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-08) | 195% | 45% |
| John Linder (R-GA-07) | 190% | 34% |
| John Lewis (D-GA-05) | 189% | 33% |
| Patrick Tiberi (R-OH-12) | 166% | 44% |
| Mike Thompson (D-CA-01) | 165% | 8% |
| Fortney Stark (D-CA-13) | 158% | 3% |
| Chris Van Hollen (D-MD-08) | 156% | 54% |
| Jerry Weller (R-IL-11) | 146% | 34% |
| Xavier Becerra (D-CA-31) | 145% | 3% |
| Rahm Emanuel (D-IL-05) | 144% | 31% |
| Richard Neal (D-MA-02) | 135% | 15% |
| Charles B. Rangel (D-NY-15) | 114% | 26% |
| Michael McNulty (D-NY-21) | 113% | 28% |
| Joseph Crowley (D-NY-07) | 113% | 28% |
| Thomas Reynolds (R-NY-26) | 113% | 28% |
| Jim McCrery (R-LA-04) | 95% | 34% |
| Kendrick Meek (D-FL-17) | 19% | 44% |
| AVERAGE | 321% | 53% |
