cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/8375539
Yellen Faces Diplomatic Test in Urging China to Curb Green Energy Exports
Why would we want China to curb their green energy exports? Isn’t that literally the whole point of trying to fight climate change, finding ways to use more green energy?
Because the government objective isn’t fight against climate change but to protect the American capitalist class.
It might shift the status quo if we shift away from precious freedom fuel (oil) before western govt’s figure it out, sure would be cool if they spent the last thirty years on that instead of clinging to archaic technology.
So basically she’s accusing China of having “industrial overcapacity”, that is to say their production is supposedly higher than the demand.
Arnaud Bertrand wrote a great article on this.
TL;DR: The 3 main signs of overcapacity (capacity utilization rates, inventory levels, and profit margins) for China are all at similar rates as the US, indicating they are not in overcapacity. And they aren’t even selling them at a lower price abroad than at home to beat competition; it’s the opposite. He concludes that China is simply getting too efficient at manufacturing these days and the US is starting to struggle to compete with that, and this is just them trying to convince China to slow down.
Even if there was overcapacity, if you’re trying to tackle climate change you should be throwing all your resources at creating and installing solar cells and batteries everywhere until there’s no fossil power generation left.
If the US is worried about domestic industry, they can shift some of the subsidies they give to oil companies to domestic green industry.
I wonder what Yellen has to offer this time, because last July she showed up with nothing and went home with only a tall tale about her “magic mushroom” experience.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Following months of work to reopen communication with China, Ms. Yellen lodged a direct complaint: Cheap Chinese exports of green energy technology are threatening the electric vehicle and solar sectors that the United States has been trying to develop, and the Biden administration is prepared to protect them.
During a separate meeting on Friday with the governor of Guangdong Province, Wang Weizhong, Ms. Yellen recalled that Guangzhou was historically a hub for Chinese trade and a place that was at the center of 1970s-era market-oriented reforms that opened China’s economy and supercharged its growth.
“Building a healthy economic relationship requires a level playing field for American workers and firms, as well as open and direct communication on areas where we disagree,” Ms. Yellen said.
They fear that these spillovers will hurt businesses that are planning investments in the United States with tax credits and subsidies that were created through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a law that is pumping more than $2 trillion into clean energy infrastructure.
A report last month published by the Rhodium Group, a research firm, recalled that a Chinese stimulus program initiated after the 2008 financial crisis focusing on infrastructure and property construction led to a global glut of steel and aluminum products after demand for real estate weakened.
The heightened focus from the United States on Chinese exports coincides with the approaching U.S. presidential election in November and concerns that Beijing’s policies could threaten American jobs and union workers.
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