US losing cool is no way to solve problems

US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez announced last Friday that the United States would slap punitive tariffs on glossy paper imported from China to protect American manufacturers from the impact of China's government-subsidized products.

This decision means the US would start levying 10.9 percent to 20.4 percent countervailing duties on China-made glossy paper. It would be the first time in 23 years that the US uses the countervailing act against a "non-market economy" such as China.

The explanation Gutierrez gave for this decision was that today's China is not what it was a few years ago and, as China has developed, the means for the US to ensure fair trade should be expanded as well.