Sue, as usual, goes succinctly to the heart of the issue.



Consider these facts (from Congressional Research Reports), current as of January 2007:

• In 2003, China replaced Mexico as the second largest source of imports for the United States.

• In 2004, China replaced Germany and the United Kingdom to become the fourth largest market for U.S. goods and remains the fastest growing major U.S. export market.

• In the past decade, the most dramatic increases in U.S. imports from China have been not in labor-intensive sectors but in some advanced technology sectors, such as office and data processing machines, telecommunications and sound equipment, and electrical machinery and appliances.

But to not "play" puts any country – not only the U.S. – at risk of becoming isolated in an increasingly interdependent world. It's a complicated world we live in.

My .02.

Dan