Charles Blum, the writer of the following article which appeared in Manufacturing & Technology News, is also a Director of the Coalition for a Prosperous America.

The United States needs to adopt an entirely new tax system that allows the country to be competitive in global markets, according to Charles Blum, president of the International Advisory Services Group in Washington, D.C.

The United States is not over taxed, but is “badly taxed,” according to Blum. The tax burden in the United States accounts for 25.4 percent of total GDP, compared to 40.3 percent of GDP for the European Union’s 15 member states. “Our tax system relies too heavily on non-border adjustable income taxes,” according to Blum. “This hurts American’s ability to save and invest domestically.” Because other nations employ a consumption tax, U.S. exports are taxed twice and imports escape any taxation, making it advantageous to produce offshore.

The following was written by Pat Choate and reprinted from Manufacturing and Technology News. Mr. Choate is the author of Saving Capitalism (Vintage, September 2009) form which this article is adapted and Agents of Influence (Knopf, 1990).

Will President Barack Obama honor his promises to enforce U.S. trade laws?

  American manufacturers and their workers will have their answer no later than September 17, 2009, when Obama is required by trade law to accept, reject or modify the International Trade Commission’s (ITC) recommendations to impose for three years increased duties on Chinese-made tire imports that threaten U.S. domestic tire production and the jobs of American tire workers.

Given the quality problems in China, I can't say I'm excited about this.

Chinese pharmaceutical companies are showing startling growth and increasing economies of scale, according to a report published by Peking University's Center for Pharmaceutical Economic Research, China’s top pharmaceutical industry magazine, and H&J Vanguard Consulting Co Ltd. Between February and July, the report surveyed 50 experts and analyzed 132 publicly traded Chinese pharmaceutical companies with annual sales exceeding RMB 100 million ($14.64 million) in 2008, Russia’s Interfax News Agency reports. Seven companies examined averaged 50 percent growth between 2006 and 2008 while over 80 percent of them recorded 20 percent average growth. The report said 11 Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers had RMB 2 billion ($292.83 million) in sales revenue last year, and four reported revenue exceeding RMB 4 billion ($585.65 million).

I can't give a link to this document.  Check out this past post where I estimated that China's FDA approves 7,500 drugs per workday as compared to the FDA approving 140 drugs per year.

The following, written by Keith Bradsher, appeared in the NY Times today and can be found here. 

WUXI, China - President Obama wants to make the United States "the world's leading exporter of renewable energy," but in his seven months in office, it is China that has stepped on the gas in an effort to become the dominant player in green energy - especially in solar power, and even in the United States.

Chinese companies have already played a leading role in pushing down the price of solar panels by almost half over the last year. Shi Zhengrong, the chief executive and founder of China's biggest solar panel manufacturer, Suntech Power Holdings, said in an interview here that Suntech, to build market share, is selling solar panels on the American market for less than the cost of the materials, assembly and shipping.